Not The Plan, But Still
by Gaya3N
Summary: Someone from Arizona's past comes to SGMW and changes the lives of our favourite doctors. Drama ensues for C/A, but story also follow the lives of Alex, Mark, Lexie, Teddy and others whose lives are as affected by the arrival of the new person.
1. Author's Note and Background

**Author's Note:- I've been reading all these sad depressing stories of the post S8 finale and I just wanted to break free of the mould. So here's my AU story. It's been floating around my head since the beginning of S8 and I finally decided to put it together. Please Review so that I know people might be interested to read something other than "What happens Next" fics. If I get enough encouraging reviews I shall take this story forward and complete it. Thank You.**

**Disclaimer : All recognizable characters belong to Shonda Rhimes. The Ones you don't readily recognize belong to me. I loved playing with the characters. Hope you enjoy reading them.**

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**Story Background-**

The Season 8 finale never took place which simply translates to- Everyone at SGMW is **healthy **and **living **and **no one has been fired.**

Also the time frame has been adjusted so that Alex, Meredith, Cristina, Jackson, April and others are in their **fifth year of residency** but there is still **a long time left for the boards**.

But Arizona's friend **Nick is here at SGMW** for his treatment and the story picks up from when Arizona learns that the cancer has spread to his lymph nodes and the situation is way more critical than they first assumed.


	2. Prologue

**Disclaimer: All Recognizable characters belong to Shonda, I'm simply playing with them. The one's you don't recognize are mine :)**

**Here's a little starter chapter. Un-beta-ed so all mistakes would be mine.**

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**PROLOGUE**

Arizona looked at her daughter sleeping contentedly in her arms and sighed. She was a living testimony to the fact that miracles were a possibility. And Arizona herself had found a heartbeat in her tiny body; she had been able to save her daughter. A tiny hope flickered inside her; maybe, just maybe, she could still do something to save Nick.

She kissed Sofia's forehead and then laid her gently into her crib. She covered her up with her favourite blanket and watched her sleep. Watching her daughter sleep peacefully was like a dose of diazepam, it soothed her nerves and helped her calm down. Yes a calm head, that's what she needed right now. She had taken out all her anger and frustration by shouting at Nick and then letting herself fall apart in her wife's arms. But then Callie had put her back together and now all that was left was for her to move forward; to start thinking up a new plan of action.

Why did I take up Paediatrics? A paediatric surgeon couldn't cure Nick. Why the hell didn't I specialize in Surgical Oncology? She huffs. But that's when it strikes her. She was a Fairy who helped sick children and she herself could be of no use to Nick as a doctor; but she did know someone who could help Nick. And she knew in her heart that even after all this time that that someone would come if only Arizona picked up the phone and asked nicely. Nick needed a miracle right now and Arizona knew just that person, capable of producing miracles as simply as baking a batch of cookies- _Ginevra Rosalva Fontane._


	3. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: All Recognizable characters belong to Shonda, I'm simply playing with them. The one's you don't recognize are mine :)**

**Here's the first chapter. My first attempt at a long fic :)**

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Alex finally found Robbins pacing about near the reception desk. Callie was leaning up against the wall with her hands in her pockets and listening to her wife rambling while Altman just sat there slumped in one of the chairs looking amused, albeit a little tired after her longs hours at the hospital.  
"Hey" Alex announced as he neared them. "I checked up on Tyson, he's recovering just fine. Should I ready his release papers?"

Robbins looks at him like he's talking Greek. She takes a moment to remember her recent cases then she starts nodding "Yeah. Yeah. Do it. Just give his parents proper instructions and then…" she lets it trail and sighing heavily turns around to stare at the hospital entrance. "Seriously, how long does it take from the airport to the hospital? She should be here by now."  
"Babe, she must have stopped to freshen up or something. She will be here." Callie assures her. "She promised to come, she hopped onto a plane almost immediately after you called, and she will be here in time to treat Nick." She runs her hand slowly down Arizona's back and adds softly "He has time."  
Arizona doesn't say anything but simply continues to stare.  
"Who's coming?" He ventures to ask.  
It's Teddy who answers "Arizona's friend from St. John's Hospital, Santa Monica. Completed her fellowship from John Wayne Cancer Institute. A specialist in Surgical Oncology, recipient of two Harper Avery awards and the only one, who's been able to impress the Great Arizona Robbins during their days in Hopkins. If you want I could give you her full bio-data, Arizona has been on for hours about her great work" she rolls her eyes.  
"Cool" is all he manages. Two Harper Averys would mean she would have to be fucking good at what she does. And if she was friends with Robbins, maybe if he could make her put in a good word for him, he could assist her on the case. Robbins couldn't be on the case, maybe he could be her person inside the OR. But really, he could do with all the exposure. It was his fifth year, so this was it. And working with a world class surgeon would look good on his CV. But before he could begin to say anything, he heard a voice say "There you are beautiful!"

Whatever it was that Alex had conjured up about this surgeon, he wasn't prepared for the sight before him. The woman moving towards Arizona and the who enveloped her in a big bear hug and kissed her soundly on her cheek before releasing her, was nothing short of a model one saw in adverts all the time but rarely in real life. To hell if someone told him that this stunning woman with long, shiny black hair and fair, oblong face with that long, slender nose and those pretty, large eyes also had brains to become a doctor let alone win a Harper Avery. She was younger than Robbins, stood maybe a few inches above her and her fit figure looked sexy even in a simple jeans and a tee, and Alex had to will himself to look away from her face when he realized he had been staring at her for an inappropriately long time and had missed out on the beginning of their conversations.  
Arizona had finished introducing her to the others and the woman said with a killer smile "Only Arizona and my father get away with calling me Ginevra. Please call me Ginny" and her eyes rested on him for a brief second before she looked back at Arizona and concentrated on what she was saying.  
_What the hell? Get your act together Alex_, he scolded himself. Alex Karev wasn't someone who got rattled by a girl. Ok a woman. A stunning woman. A woman with brains. Still he was the Badass Alex Karev, the Evil Spawn, he didn't do these stupid schoolboy crushes. Or at least he told himself so.  
By the time he got his senses back they were moving down the hall and he had to run to catch up with them.

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Callie wasn't sure what to feel about this woman. No she wasn't jealous. At least she wasn't till five minutes back. That was when she was unaware of the fact that the friend of Arizona's, who was coming over to help her with Nick's case, was a beautiful brunette, and now, seeing their ease around each other and their playful verbal exchanges she was almost sure that they had been more than friends. Suddenly Callie was feeling like a cavewoman all over again.

Arizona and she were talking about their time at Hopkins and Arizona was laughing at something she had said. Arizona laughing, had been a rare sight these days and Callie had been trying so hard to get a smile on her wife's face and here this woman was making her laugh. Callie scowled.  
"Callie would you mind running down the essential facts for me before we meet Nick?" she asked politely.  
Hell, this woman was calling her Callie and she hardly knew her. She was extending her familiarity with Arizona to her, and Callie didn't like it one bit.  
"Sure " Callie stressed on it and began reciting the case history as they rode up the elevator. She didn't make any comments, simply nodded at some points then turned to Teddy and asked her what she thought. When Arizona tried to butt in she laughed and gently but firmly told her "Nope, you're just the irksome family member in this case. You don't get to consult and you definitely don't get to tell me what to do." Arizona began to challenge it but then she looked at Ginevra's raised eyebrows and she gave up.  
"Fine. Just don't be your outright honest self with Nick. Save it for the doctors then." Arizona said.  
Ginevra gave a short laugh "I'll just paint him the picture Zona. You can add the rainbows and the unicorns to that picture, ok?"  
_Zona? Really, Zona? She had a pet name for her wife?_

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"O so they sent the Mafia to kill me now, did they?" chirped Nick from his bed as they entered his room.  
"Pathetic. Really Nick? Mafia is the only connection you get for my Italian descent?" she asks as she moves over to his bed and picks up his chart. "The cancer got to your funny bone already, huh?" she smirks.  
Arizona settles down on his bed and looks expectantly at her. Callie moves to stand beside Fontane and Teddy.  
"How's it going Nick?" asks Callie "Does it pain anywhere else, anew?"  
"I'm just sore all over from lying in bed all day. Maybe a little trekking would be good."  
"Sure." Ginevra answers before Callie can say anything. "That or you could have some sex, use all those muscles, get some vital exercise, you know"  
"Now, that's my girl" laughs Nick before Arizona admonishes them both.  
"You should have kept her you know." He adds and a look passes between Arizona and Ginevra as an awkward silence descends upon the room.  
I have been vindicated. There had been something more between the too. I can feel the jealousy boil up within me. It's Teddy who clears her throat and tries to salvage the situation "What do you reckon, Dr. Fontane?"  
Ginevra gives an uneasy smile "I reckon he should rest after all. We can prep him up for surgery in some hours and once we've finalised our action plan we can go ahead with it asap." She looks at Callie who gives her a curt nod. She smiles and turns to Nick "We'll try to save all your important muscles ok?" and she winks at him.

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"It's bad." Ginevra states simply as they stand examining Nick's X-rays. It's just her with Teddy and Callie and so she can be brutally honest and not think about hurting Arizona's feelings. Thankfully her resident called her away and now Ginevra can finally get into her professional mode. "But then that's what's challenging." She cracks a confident smile. "This should be fun guys."  
Callie scoffs and Teddy smiles not at what said but at Callie's childish behaviour. She can clearly see Callie's hostility towards Fontane coming out in waves. She doesn't completely blame Callie. If Henry had ever had such an ex she would be jealous too. But now Henry is dead. And she has to go on with her life, save another lives maybe. She hopes she can help Arizona's friend. She can't deal with any more sour relationships right now and Arizona truly is her only friend in Seattle and Teddy sincerely wants to help her. So if she has to play the role of mediator between these two today in the OR she will do it. But frankly, Fontane has been nothing but friendly to them, maybe a little too friendly with Arizona, but she came across as a nice person in their interactions so far. Also, she was sharp with her diagnosis and blunt with her words. She called the situation as she saw it. She had a wicked sense of humour too. And so far she had managed to ignore Callie's attitude towards her and stuck to making her humorous observations only to her. Teddy thought she might like her and was eager to watch her work in the OR.

Arizona entered then and asked in an enthusiastic voice "So? When are we scrubbing in? I'll clear my schedules…"  
"Woho. No. You are not scrubbing in." cuts in Ginevra and Arizona's face falls.  
"Ginny please?" she whines.  
"No bloody way Zona." And she crosses her arms across her chest and gives a look that clearly translated to Don't Argue.  
Arizona looks towards Callie and Teddy for support but they don't give in either.  
"Aargh! Can I watch at least?"  
"You always loved watching me perform didn't you?" asks Ginevra and a blush works up Arizona's face. She looks towards Callie and swallows when she sees Callie giving her an incomprehensible look. "Sure you can watch, but from the gallery. You aren't allowed in the OR" continues Ginevra unaware of the tension she has just increased in the room.  
"Didn't you have a surgery tonight?" asks Callie through gritted teeth.  
Arizona shrugs her shoulder. "Karev can handle that."  
"He's not yet an attending. And you aren't even gonna keep an eye on him?" she continues.  
Arizona ponders for a second. "He's done it before. It's fairly simple. I trust him to do it."  
"Wow. Karev must be really good then, huh?" asks Ginevra, smiling looking from Callie to Arizona. "Arizona Robbins willingly relinquishing control to someone and trusting them blindly, that's a wonder!" she teases.  
Arizona rolls her eyes and chuckles. "I'm not blindly trusting him. He's good. I taught him, so of course he's good." She says proudly.

Just then the subject of their discussion enters the room.  
"Hey, you think I can scrub in on this surgery guys? I've never really done many cancer cases." He says hopefully.  
"Nope." Arizona answers swiftly. "Coz you Karev are performing a hernia removal on a 16 year old and you can't possibly be in two places at once." She pats him lightly on his shoulder.  
He looks crestfallen for a second but then his face lights up when Fontane adds a "Good Luck, Dr. Karev. I hope you are as good as Dr. Robbins bills you up to be" and then she brushes past him out of the room and the other three follow.

Well that wasn't the plan, but still Karev couldn't help but feel slightly happy at that. She seemed impressed. No well, she hoped to be impressed. Or whatever.  
Alex shrugged his shoulder. He knew he was good. Robbins trusted him and he didn't need to prove anything to anyone. But still he acknowledged the warm tingling feeling in the pit of his stomach for a moment before shaking his head, pulling back his shoulder and moving towards the Peds floor. He had a patient to operate on and to hell with the pretty doctor who was messing with his system.

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**So how was the first chapter? Like I said, please review and let me know if I should continue with it. If you feel I should just chuck it, let me know that too.**

**I have the story complete in my head, so I can promise fairly regular updates, IF, you want them. And if you felt Alex Karev was a bit out of character, I promise you he's coming back in full force for the next chapter.**

**Love-G**


	4. Chapter 2

**Ok so this one was long overdue. But honestly, I didnt get enough reviews to know whether I should continue writing it or not. But then I thought, since I already have the story in my head, I might as well type it out.**

**Disclaimer : All recognizable characters belong to Shonda, I'm just playing with them.**

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The ferocity with which Callie dotted her "i" caused the pen to slip from her fingers and fall to the floor. She cursed inwardly before bending to pick it up. As soon as she straightened herself, she resumed with what she had been occupied with for the past half-hour. That is, shooting daggers at Ginevra Fontane.

She was standing by the nurses' station from where she had a clear view of Nick's room. The surgery had gone off well. Or relatively well, given the circumstances. But given the chance, Callie wouldn't ever want a repeat of what happened in the OR today. She wasn't particularly proud of what she had done. In plain, honest words, she had been a bitch to . And was she feeling any better after it? Nope. Not now that she saw her wife, laughing away with , as they sat by Nick's bed and talked about God knows what.

She hadn't seen her wife this relaxed in a while. Now that Nick was out of immediate danger, all thanks to some brilliant work by Fontane (yes, she would have to grudgingly admit that she was good at what she did). Now that Nick was awake, they were filling him in. To an outsider, they would appear to be just a group of friends, reliving their shared histories and revelling in each other's familiarity. But Callie was no outsider, and she knew that Ginevra Fontane had once upon a time meant much to her wife, and if she were being honest to herself, she would have to admit, that she was still very special to her wife.

"Whom are you planning to kill?" asked Mark, as he walked up to her with Sofia in his arms. Sofia immediately leaned forward with her arms outstretched.  
"Aww Baby" Callie cooed before shutting her file and plucking out Sofia from Mark's arms. She busied herself in fussing over her baby. After the terrible day she had had, Sofia was the only medicine she needed. That and maybe, an explanation from her wife.  
"I would hate to have to kill that pretty one" exclaimed Mark from my side as he idly leaned on the nurses' station and pointed his fingers over his shoulders, to Nick's room. At the lack of an answer from me, he continued "Isn't that Blondie's friend from med-school?"  
I just grunted. That peaked Mark's interest. He turned to look at them, who I noticed where now laughing at something that Nick was saying. But all the laughing and talking, was wearing him out and when he began to cough up, Ginevra and Arizona began helping him to settle into bed. Mark turned back to me.  
"Must say, Blondie has excellent taste in women" That earned him a death glare from Callie. Callie shifted Sofia around in her arms. "They were more than friends. But that was a long time ago. A long long time ago" Callie paused to kiss Sofia on her forehead. "Arizona and I are married and we are a happy family now. And I am not gonna be jealous over some ex-girlfriend of hers. Who I must add is an excellent surgeon and has really helped me with Nick's case" Callie offered, what she hoped was a smile, at the end of her lofty claims.  
"For your sake Cal, I hope you believe in half those words you just said." Mark answered with a smirk. "Arizona has enough on her platter right now. You acting all crazy right now, is just gonna get her all pissed off" he added in an ominous voice.

"What am I gonna be pissed off at?" asked Arizona as she walked over to us, a dimpled smile firmly in place. She placed a quick kiss on Callie cheek before holding out her hands for Sofia, who gleefully jumped into her momma's arms.  
"No one" both Callie and Mark answered at the same time. Arizona peaked her eyebrows, but she let it pass as Sofia cuddled into her.  
"She's beautiful" observed Ginevra as she stood a step behind Arizona, and lightly ran her fingers through Sofia's hair. "You guys are such a lucky couple" She lifted her eyes to meet Callie's. She sincerely hoped that would work in thawing the ice between the two. Callie smiled briefly, accepting the compliment. After all, it was the truth.  
"I'm Mark Sloan, by the way, Head of Plastics" said Mark, standing up straighter and offering a hand to Ginevra. "They always tend to forget me when they're around each other" he smiled cheekily.  
"Oh trust me Mark, how I wish I could forget you" snorted Arizona.  
Ginevra laughed and took the proffered hand "Ginevra Fontane, Surgical Oncology" Then to Arizona she added with a chuckle "The sperm-donor, huh?" Arizona bobbed her head in assent.  
"I prefer the term baby-daddy" Mark offered coolly.  
Ginevra pulled back her hand from Mark's grasp. "Yes, I hear you're a lot more" she said with a twinkle in her eye.  
"Has blondie been talking about me, then?" he asked with surprise. "Don't believe every word she says, she's just jealous that she's committed and she can't score as many women as me" Mark smirked. That earned him an eye-roll from Arizona.  
"I don't know Mark" Ginevra said, while looking fondly at Arizona "where I come from, there are many who would still fall for Arizona even if they had you swooning all over them" For a second she watched Arizona blush under the effect of her comment, then she turned to continue to look at Mark "Many a great, straight, upright citizens I know have fallen for her."

Callie believed she had had enough of it. She, not so subtly moved to stand closer to her wife, and placed a hand round her waist, even pulled her closer to herself. Then with as much nonchalance she could muster, she croaked out "It's late, we should head home now" to Arizona. Then she glared at Fontane "Thank You for your help today, "  
"No problem. Anything for a friend." She smiled. She then checked her watch "Guess I should head back to my hotel, catch some sleep. I'll come in to check up on Nick before I leave for the airport tomorrow"  
"What about dinner?" asked Arizona "Why don't you join us for dinner? We could catch up" she asked sweetly.  
Callie couldn't believe her ears. She unconsciously dug her fingers into her wife's hip. Arizona instinctively winced and looked up into Callie's eyes. That's when she realized what had slipped out from her mouth. She should have asked her wife, if she would be comfortable with the idea. But now the words had already been uttered.  
"No thank you guys" Ginevra said sensing Callie's displeasure. "I'm really burnt-out. And I desperately need a bath. I'll just have a quick quite dinner and catch up on some much needed sleep"  
"How come no one ever asks me to dinner?" Mark pouted.  
"Because you always just come over whenever you want." Arizona answered with a deadpan expression "even when you are not wanted" she added, putting an extra emphasis on the "not".  
Callie couldn't help but laugh. "Pouting doesn't suit you Mark" she patted him on the shoulder. "Plus your shift starts in half hour" Sofia babbled in her baby language. "Yes baby, tell Daddy to go do something consequential" added Arizona with a devilish grin. Callie had to admit, getting a laughing, joking Arizona was worth having endured Ginevra Fontane. And tomorrow she'd be gone and she and Arizona would be back to their normal lives. She wouldn't be feeling this insecure, and Arizona wouldn't be teasing her about it.  
"This is cute" Ginevra commented, her face lit up with a grin. "I never imagined such a domestic Arizona Robbins, but this" she flayed her hands to capture the strange family that the three had created "this is…something. And it's good to see you so happy" she added the last part with an uncharacteristic softness in her voice.  
Callie noticed the sad smile that Arizona gave Ginevra. "Aww Ginny…" she began to say something, but apparently words failed her. She instead moved towards her and enveloped her in a one-handed hug. Ginevra hugged her back tightly and released her with a quick kiss to her cheek. She then kissed Sofia on her forehead. Standing back, she gave them a watery-eyed smile, before putting out her hand towards Mark "It was nice meeting you Mark" After Mark was Callie's turn. Ginevra debated for a second whether she should hug her or just offer her a hand. She settled for the latter "It was wonderful getting to work with you Callie. And I really hope you understand and appreciate how lucky you are" with those words, she released Callie's hand and pulling up her purse over her shoulder, she walked away towards the elevator.

Exiting the building, and walking through the parking lot Ginny wondered if what she was feeling right now, could qualify as regret. Did she regret not having Arizona in her life? She shook her head and moved the wind-blown hair out of her face. Was she jealous of what Callie had? She paused, almost imperceptibly. But then she continued walking. Yes, she couldn't admit that she wasn't a little jealous of Callie. But not because she had Arizona. Well, not only because she had Arizona. Callie Torres had everything that Ginevra had ever wanted in her life. The life of a kick-ass surgeon, winning awards, working on interesting cases, receiving the love and respect of friends and colleagues and most importantly, a life with a loving, adorable family that she could go back to at the end of the day.  
She knew she had tormented Callie in the OR today. And as jealous as Callie felt today, Ginevra had only trifled with her because she knew that whatever she did, she could never have what Callie had. Truth be told, it had been amusing to see Callie try hard to contain her anger. And her reaction, when Arizona had invited her for dinner had been hilarious. But at the end of the day, she would be the one, who would go home with Arizona and their beautiful daughter. While she, Ginevra Fontane, would go back to an empty hotel room and sleep off her insecurities and broken dreams.  
While waiting for a cab, she caught sight of a bar on the opposite side of the road. She decided, a single drink would only do her good. So even as a cab slowed down near her, she waved it off and headed into the bar.

Alex Karev was nursing his third drink of the evening when Ginevra Fontane slipped onto a chair next to him. She ordered an expensive scotch, well relatively expensive, considering it was after all Joe's. She didn't seem to notice him as she played with her phone till her drink arrived. When it did, she smiled perfunctorily before picking up the glass and drowning most of it in one go. Alex wondered if the surgery didn't go as well as they had hoped. For Robbins' sake he hoped it had. He hated having a crappy-mood Robbins cracking a whip around the Ped's floor.  
"How was the surgery?" the question seemed to startle the pretty surgeon for a second and she stared at him for a minute before recognizing him. "Karev" she stated simply. Alex nodded his headed. She shrugged her shoulders "He'll live another 6-8 months max. Might need another surgery or two in due time" and she drowned the rest of her drink.  
"Something stronger" she told Joe and Joe nodded with understanding. "How was yours?" she asked turning to him again.

"Good" Karev smiled his patent half-smile. "I nailed it as usual." He sipped his drink while Joe placed an electric blue drink before her. She looked at it quizzically. Then shrugging her shoulders she gave a crooked smile to Karev before picking up the glass and emptying half of it in one go. It had to be strong, judged Alex from her expression. He couldn't help but chuckle. She shut him off with a small glare.

"So is this how you always celebrate a successful surgery?" she asked placing her elbows on the counter and dropping her head into her hands. "Getting drunk?" she continued. "Don't you need to still go to work tomorrow?" she asked peeking up at him.  
Alex considered her for a moment. He instinctively reached forward and brushed aside the hair from her face. But he quickly withdrew his hands. She looked at him weirdly for a second till he started speaking "Naah…I usually take someone home and celebrate more privately." He wiggled his eyebrows. She snorted.  
"Aaahh…a famous Ladies' Man, huh?" she questioned sipping her drink while Alex drained his glass. "Two tequilas" he called out to Joe.  
"Infamous" Alex corrected her. "There was time when there wasn't a single nurse at Seattle Grace that hadn't slept with me" Normally he never boasted like that to a woman. Whatever he normally did, he believed it was disrespectful to let a woman know that she was just one of his many conquests. But he felt no such inhibitions with her. He didn't know what it was about this woman. She was talking to him. And all he wanted was to keep talking to her.  
Joe placed their shots before them.  
"So what happened today? Or are you now a convert?" she asked with a strange look in her eyes. Alex tried reading what they meant. But when he instead felt himself just staring endlessly at them he pulled himself back together and looked around the room. "Out of luck today" His eyes finally rested on her. He pushed one of the glasses towards her and picked up the other.  
She smiled. No it was a smirk. No it was like a minx smiling. "I thought you were smart" were her words before she emptied the shot glass.  
It took Alex a minute to catch on. He shook his head at his dumbness. "You staying at the Archfield?" He looked expectantly at her for the answer.  
"What if I said yes?" she said standing up and stepping in closer to Alex. He angled himself towards her so that she was standing between his legs. "Then I'd want to drop you to your room safe and secure" Alex wanted to sound confident, but what came out was an almost strangled whisper. Flirting was something Alex had mastered long time back. Why would his superpowers fail him now?  
"I hate gentlemen" she whispered stepping in closer and taking hold of his shirt collar.  
"I assure you I'm anything but" He whispered back.  
She laughed. A rich throaty laugh. And took the glass from his hand and in one go emptied it.

This was not how Ginevra had planned her night. But pulling Alex Karev into her room, she believed this one-night stand with a stranger couldn't be such a bad idea. She didn't want to be alone. Alex Karev was available. It would be a once and for all occurance. So what if it wasn't the plan?

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**As always, I love hearing from you. What you think about Ginevra, or how you want this story to proceed, or even if you just want me to stop writing it all together- do let me know! Lots of love-G**


	5. Chapter 3

**Ok so here's the next installment. I realized that there wer mistakes in the last chapter, and I have no idea how they cropped up, coz the original document doesn't have them. So this must have been during the upload. Anyways, I'm sorry about it. If anyone else is having similar problems, and can help me out with it please let me know.**

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Shonda, I'm simply playing with them.**

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The buzzing pager startled Alex and he almost fell right off the bed. Opening one eye he tried to locate the source of the sound. Realizing that the muffled voice was coming from somewhere below he leaned down and stretched his hand to lift his jacket off the floor. He fished in one pocket, then the next, before getting hold of the offending item. Painfully he opened his other eye to read the text clearly. Robbins was paging him for a late morning hip replacement surgery for a 15 year old. Under normal circumstances he would have rejoiced at such news, but today he was feeling very tired. Drained, to be precise. And almost suddenly he remembered the reason for his exhaustion.

He turned to look at the woman lying beside him. Lying on her stomach with her face was covered by unruly raven hair, she still looked attractive. And this thoroughly surprised Alex. Usually when he felt strongly attracted to a woman, he had his way with her, and with that act he was more than over with them. Conquest over. The girl became just another distraction to him. And so his surprise over the fact that he still wanted this woman was genuine.

Alex rose on his elbows and simply stared at her. Watching her sleep, he concluded that it was probably due to the great sex they had last night that he was having such feelings. There had been no guilt. Just pure lustful passion. He had used her just as much as she had used him. And now that it was morning, all that Alex had to do was get up and leave. No questions would be asked, nothing need be said. They would get back to their normal routine lives. Even as those thoughts flitted through his head, his hands seemed to have taken a life of their own as they moved forward, and with uncharacteristic gentleness, removed the hair covering the face and pushed it off the shoulders to the other side. She seemed to shiver lightly at his touch and so Alex immediately stilled his hand. He waited for her to go back to sleep, before letting his thumb caress her face gently. Alex sighed. And worst, he didn't know what that sigh meant. Thankfully, he was saved from thinking too much about it by another beep, this time from his cell. He quickly extracted his hand, and getting off of the bed, he checked his new message. It was from April asking what she should make for breakfast. He snorted, but then quickly checking himself, he looked over his shoulder. Then he put his phone to Silent mode before picking his clothes off the floor and heading towards the bathroom.

Ginevra woke up to the sound of the running shower. She turned over on her back and lay there for a few moments just trying to recall the events from the previous night. She didn't have to think too hard, the delicious ache all over her body was enough of a reminder. She smiled. When she heard the shower being turned off she quickly pushed herself up into a sitting position. Resting against the headboard, she covered herself with the sheet just in time, as a wet dripping Alex walked into the room, wearing only a towel. Usually Ginevra was never the shy one- far from it actually. But today morning was different. She just let her eyes roam over Alex's body with unabashed silent awe. When she realized that Alex had caught her staring and was now smirking she quickly averted her eyes. She picked off her phone from the night stand, for the lack of anything better to do.

"I thought I should get in a bath, I don't want to walk around the hospital corridors smelling of alcohol and sweat" Alex said in a matter-of-fact tone.  
Ginny just answered with a dumb "yeah" and still refused to look up at him and just occupied herself with checking the messages she had received.  
Alex paused momentarily before buttoning up his jeans to look at her "Look…aargh! I don't know how you usually treat guys after a one night stand. And I usually make my escape before the girl wakes up. So I don't know what I'm expected to say here"  
Ginny finally looked up at him, and laughed. She dropped her hands and with that the sheet slipped to reveal her perfectly naked torso. But just like that her awkwardness was gone and she sat there appraising him with a curious look on her face. Alex didn't flinch. He just looked right back at her.  
"So you are the cold-hearted kind huh?" she smiled. "Don't worry I'm not judging, I'm right there with you." Alex smirked back at her before slipping his hands into his shirt. "_Usually _I'm the one that gets up early, and while eating breakfast I just offer them a perfunctory "it was nice yesterday" and then drop the "It was nice having known you" and send them packing" Alex laughed at her phrasing.  
"They get over you so fast?"  
She peaked her eyebrows. "With the ones that don't I use Plan B" she grinned.  
"What's plan B?" asked Alex buttoning up his shirt.  
"A buzzing pager a.k.a emergency at the hospital" They both laughed out at that. When the silence was restored and Alex had finished dressing up, he paused for a moment, not knowing what to say. "So…"  
"You know, get some breakfast before heading out." Ginny spoke up. "since we are perfectly clear with…" she just pointed towards him then herself then back towards him "this. Whatever This is. Or this is not. I mean we are perfectly clear that this is nothing, so I really don't mind if you stay back and get some breakfast. Order whatever you want, they'll just put it on my tab. You must be famished. I know I am" there was an almost shy smile on her face but the mischievous twinkle in her eyes was unmistakable.  
Alex laughed. "I am. I am." He walked round the bed to pick up his jacket from the night stand. Dusting it off, he slipped it on. "But I can't. One it feels like you're paying me for the sex" Pocketing his phone and pager and slipping on his watch he continued before Ginny could begin clarifying "And two, I really have been paged and Robbins needs me in the hospital in like…" he checked his watched "…10 mins. So…So I really need to go" He smiled. Not his patent half-smile but a genuine one.  
"Really?" Ginny rolled her eyes. "all these years and you're gonna use _that_ line on me?"  
Alex shrugged his shoulders. "Guess there's always a first time" Ginny just frowned back at him.  
"So."  
"So."  
"It was nice. And maybe next time when you're in town I'll get to work with you"  
"You did work out with me instead" she replied cheekily. If Alex Karev was capable of blushing, he would have at that. But then he was Alex Karev so he just smirked and added "I'll just head out before I make a further fool of myself"

And with that he turned on his heels and headed out of the room. As he slipped out of her door, he heard her rich laughter from the bedroom. For a second he hesitated, but then he just shook his head and let a smile grace his face as he closed the door behind him. It was a nice end to this chapter.

* * *

Callie was far from happy at the way things had shaped up. What she had expected from Arizona was a confession. Instead what she had received from her wife was pure evasion. Even now as they stood operating on a 15 year old, Arizona was using Karev as a buffer. He was the one with the hands inside the child, working alongside Callie while Arizona just simply stood behind him watching him work and answering his queries. After her failure to get answers out of her wife last night, Callie had thought that this surgery would provide them with perfect opportunity. But Arizona had been smarter, and she had seen through Callie's plan. Or why else would she have Karev there? Callie couldn't help the irritation churning up into anger within her.  
She noticed Arizona look at the clock in the room and then look back towards the table. This was the third time in the last 15 minutes that she had done that. Callie decided to call her out on it.  
"You need to be somewhere else honey?" she asked, with what even she recognized as forced artificial concern.  
Arizona blinked her eyes a few times before deciding to just come out with the truth. "Ummm…it's just that Ginevra was supposed to be in the hospital now to check up on Nick. And I wanted to catch her before she left." Callie's eyebrows almost jumped off her forehead on hearing the statement, and Arizona involuntarily flinched at that.

Hearing her wife simply call that woman "Ginevra" made Callie lose all sense. When Arizona called her "Calliope" it tinkled her core, and she felt Arizona's love and devotion for herself, like it was a special magical word that only Arizona knew and when she uttered it Callie felt aroused, and loved, and excited and secure- most of all she felt she belonged with Arizona and Arizona alone, while Arizona was the only one meant for her. And now listening to her call Fontane "Ginevra" and never Ginny or or anything else, Callie felt…betrayed. Yes, that was it- betrayed. All Arizona had to do was tell Callie what Ginny had meant to her, or still means to her. But all Arizona did do was evade the question, tease her for acting like a jealous girlfriend, reminded her that she was married to her and more over shut up her fountain of questions with a breath-taking kiss. No, Callie, wasn't complaining about the last one. But she knew that her wife was deliberately hiding details from her and that was enough to put her on the edge.

"I can take it from here. The difficult part is over" Karev was the one to break the silence. Callie glared at him, but he seemed to be immune to it. He was a perfect Arizona's minion and when Arizona smiled at the suggestion and looked at Callie hopefully, all that she could do was nod her head. "Yeah, just go."  
Arizona caught Callie's anger and hurt dripping through those words "But it's ok. I can just stay. Finish it up and then head over" she said, trying to smile through her mask, but Callie saw those eyes and she knew that there was only one thing she could do.  
She sighed "Arizona." Arizona began to say something. Callie just shook her head, and Arizona stopped herself from saying whatever she was about to say. "We can take care of this. Why don't you go check how Nick is doing and what Ginevra…"-she couldn't stop herself from stressing out the 'a'- "has to say about it. Go wish your friend goodbye" Callie offered her a smile, to let her know that she meant what she had said. She was well aware that she had to be patient with Arizona. She had vowed to do so, and she meant to keep her vows.  
Arizona breathed out a relieved "Thank You" and began rushing out of the OR before retracing her steps and walking up to Callie and squeezing her shoulder. She placed a light kiss on the shoulder and was out of the OR.

Callie watched her hurry out of the room, and let out another sigh. "Ginevra Fontane will be gone soon, and we can all get back to our normal lives" She lifted her eyes to meet Karev's, who for some reason looked distracted. When he met Callie's questioning eyes, he whispered out "Yeah. Yeah. She'll be gone." And with that he lowered his head and got back to concentrating on the surgery.

* * *

As Fontane sat in Chief Owen Hunt's office, going over his proposal, for the first time in a long time, she felt confused, conflicted, unsure and totally unlike herself. Ginny prided herself over the fact that she always knew exactly what she wanted. And here she was caught completely unaware and Owen Hunt was sitting across from her expecting an answer.  
" , I'm aware that this is a big decision and that you probably need time to weigh all your options and decide what's best for yourself, but it would be heartening to get some feelers about what you think about it. You haven't uttered a word since." Hunt leaned a little forward in his chair. "Would you like a glass of water?"  
That seemed to bring Ginny out of her daze. Pulling herself together, she crossed her legs and leaned forward a bit. "I'm going to be honest, this is surprising. And this is a huge opportunity. I mean getting to start and head an entire Oncology ward and that too with such a generous funding, is a once in a lifetime opportunity. But I have a life in California and I'm happy doing what I'm doing and all this is so…so tempting but I really need to talk it out with some others. There are factors…and there are people…" she ran her hand nervously through her hair. "Are you sure I'm the best person for the job?" she asked sincerely.

Hunt smiled in return. "You come highly recommended . And your success rate, given the unenviable odds you have to face, is incredible. SGMW would be proud to have you on the staff."  
Ginny don't know what to say, so she smiled. It usually worked. A smile that neither she knew what it meant, nor the receiver, but was open to all kinds of interpretations. When she had caught the flight to Seattle the day before, her plan had been to simply help an old friend. And that done, the simple plan included her flying back to California to her normal life. But here she was sitting in Seattle still, hours before her flight would take off, talking about a potential life altering career move. And just like that her simple plan had fallen apart…or had it?

* * *

**Ah, so how was that? I know everyone's waiting for Callie to blow-off pretty soon, and I assure you she will. But I'm really excited about her reaction to whatever decision Ginny takes and how it's gonna affect Alex and Arizona.  
**

**I love reviews. And as you may have noticed, the more the reviews and positive/negative feedbacks from you in terms of alerts and favourites and page views, the faster updates you shall get :) No i'm not bargaining, just letting you know that your encouragement means tons to me :) Love- G**


	6. Chapter 4

**Tada! As promised, more the reviews, the faster the story get's updated :)  
****So here's the next chapter. This one's Longggg. well at least long by my standards. But i had to write all that. Hope you guys like it :)  
**

**Disclaimer : All recognizable characters belong to Shonda, I'm only playing with them  
P.S-Ginevra though, I can proudly say is my creation :D  
Happy Reading!**

* * *

Two weeks later and Ginevra Fontane was still in Seattle. And more precisely, she was still in Chief Owen Hunt's office. But this time, the circumstances were completely different.  
"It's time" said Hunt looking at his watch. "Shall we head to the conference room ?" he offered her a smile.  
Ginevra took in a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. "Yes" she breathed out.

As she followed Hunt down to the conference room, Ginny couldn't ignore the butterflies in her stomach. She chided herself. She had no reason to be nervous. She was a world-renowned surgeon. Terribly good at what she did. And here was life offering her a once in a lifetime opportunity. She had spoken to her colleagues and her mentor at St. John's and everyone had asked her to just close her eyes and make the leap. And so she had. Within a week she had signed and sent back the contract, and made a move to Seattle. Although most of her luggage was still in transit, she had already encamped at The Archfield and was looking forward to a fruitful career in Seattle.

Lost in her thoughts she almost bumped into , who had paused briefly outside the door. He turned around and held her by her shoulders, steadying her. He gave her a smile and said softly, in a manner that reminded her of her old friend Hugo speaking to her "Relax. You've got this. The staff is really warm. Just be yourself, and they'll love you." He dropped his hands and waited for Ginny to smile back, then turning around he opened the door to the conference room.

Callie couldn't believe her eyes. She hadn't immediately noticed the figure. But when most doctors had settled down after Hunt's entry, she noticed the brunette standing by his side. Her striking figure, clad in smart clothes was hardly miss-able. And had Callie not been preoccupied listening to what Arizona was saying she would have noticed her sooner. That reminded Callie about Arizona and she turned to look at her wife, who, in one word looked- blank! Callie couldn't tell if Arizona was happy or surprised, or shocked or angry. Did her wife know about this move? Had she deliberately hidden it from her? Maybe she had tried to dissuade Fontane and she had still taken the job? So did that mean, Fontane was back to claim Arizona? Callie's mind was racing at the moment. But before she could start drawing up battle plans Hunt spoke up-  
"Doctors I'd like you to welcome our newest member to the staff, Dr. Ginevra Fontane, Head of our new Oncology Department." Ginny nodded her head lightly and swept her eyes over all the staff. Catching Arizona's eyes she smiled a small smile.  
"Some of us are already aware that Thomas Gordon's family has donated a large sum to the hospital and set up a trust as well, to help set up a new Cancer Treatment Unit. Dr. Fontane here is our first addition to that programme. Very soon, we shall have more new doctors joining us, as and when Dr. Fontane decides to expand the Unit." Turning slightly to he continued "on behalf of the staff, I'd like to welcome you. Would you like to say something?"  
Ginevra just nodded her head. She realized she had been doing that, and nothing else, a lot lately. So she promptly stopped nodding her head. Instead she clasped and then unclasped her hands behind her back. Then bringing them forward, she flicked her hair across her forehead. Taking in a deep breath she began "umm…I look forward to working with all of you and accomplishing some great stuff, but more importantly save lives" Yes, that, she thought was a good start. Professional. "I've worked with some of you before," she looked at the trio of Teddy, Arizona and Callie at the opposite end of the table, "and I've heard about quite a few of you" she let her eyes drift round the room "so I'm really excited about this new chapter in my life where I'll be getting to work with all of you. Thank You" As she paused, a light clapping began in the room and everyone took it up. Perhaps Callie was the only one who didn't clap.

Ginny went and sat down in the only available empty chair, and that one happened to be the one next to Mark Sloan. As she slid into her chair, Mark leaned forward and whispered "So you couldn't resist me and you're back?" He flashed her, his patent smirk. Ginny laughed, relieved. Mark put out his right hand and Ginny was grateful for it as she took it "You bet!" He joined in on her laugh before Hunt began speaking again.

Mark settled back in his chair and crossed his arms as he smiled to himself. On principle he was determined to like the new-comer. He knew she was Arizona's friend and that would mean that she wasn't exactly a loner, but he also knew Callie well-enough to know that she would make life living hell for this woman. And that the rest, would also take their time warming up to her. Mark was in no doubt, that if it ever came to it, he would fight alongside Callie to keep Arizona from drifting towards Ginny. That is if it ever came to it. Which he was sure would never happen. Robbins was too madly in love with Callie, even though they were now married and had a kid. Mark even thought it was nauseating at times. And when he looked at Ginny, he somehow felt he was looking at a kindred soul. He couldn't explain the feeling. But he saw it. And he could also spot her nervousness underneath her confident demeanour. And so he had done what he had done. But now that he turned to look at Callie and saw her glaring at him, he began re-thinking what he had done.

Callie was too angry to concentrate on anything being said at the meeting. When her turn came, she had mechanically answered. And that was perhaps the only time that she had looked down to the file in her hands, for the rest of the meeting she was busy boring holes behind Ginevra's head. Her trance was only broken at the end of the meeting when everyone got up and started shuffling around and she heard Arizona's voice say "Ginevra!"

Ginevra turned with a huge smile on her face "Zona!" She came around and hugged her friend and Arizona hugged her back momentarily before she pulled herself back to look up at her friend questioningly "Really?"  
"Yup, really!" Ginny said excitedly.  
"And you couldn't tell me that before? I mean, you could have mentioned it that you were moving to Seattle…" Arizona frowned. This was her friend. She should have known and not been taken completely by surprise.  
"Yeah, well I didn't know myself" began Ginny cautiously. "But then I spoke to my colleagues and everyone told me that I had to take the opportunity. And so…so I did" she looked expectantly at Arizona. "Aren't you happy to see me?" she asked a little more quietly.  
Arizona shook her head "Ginny, you know I'm so happy for you. For this opportunity…" she ran a loving hand down Ginny's arms. "You deserve it. You've worked so hard for it. But all I wanted…I mean I would have liked…I thought…" Arizona just humpffed in frustration.  
Ginny put her hand round Arizona's shoulder "What Zona? Did I do something wrong?" she asked sincerely.  
"I just thought I meant enough for you to tell me such stuff…such important decisions. Especially when they would involve me playing a part in it" she said, not meeting Ginny's eyes.  
Ginny smiled, before lifting Arizona's face towards her "Yeah, I haven't done that in a long time…shared stuff with you. I hope I'll just get used to it all again" Arizona smiled back.  
"I'm so happy for you" Arizona said before turning and enveloping her friend in a long hug.

"I hate to break this love fest, ladies" spoke up Mark, "But I need you Dr. Robbins on my case"  
That's when the two realized that there were others round them. Though the two still missed a fuming Callie by Arizona's side. They just laughed and parted.  
Derek Shepherd was the next to speak up "And I would like your help, "  
"Sure, Dr. Shepherd." Ginevra answered with a laugh. "I'll meet you during lunch or something" she squeezed Arizona's shoulder before following Shepherd out of the room.

* * *

Ginny was truly awed by the young petit doctor standing in front of her and talking away. She knows she should pay attention. But she just takes a moment to truly observe the doctor. And at the end of it, she couldn't stop the little laughter from escaping her throat.  
Lexie Grey stops speaking immediately, and turns to look at the senior surgeon "I'm sorry" she bites her lower lip.  
Ginny rolls her eyes "For what? I should be the one to say sorry."  
Lexie has a confused look on her face. But before she can begin to say anything Ginny speaks up again "Doesn't mean that I'm going to." She flashes her a brilliant smile. But it ends up confusing Lexie even more.  
"Dr. Grey, relax." She leans back against the table and opens the file in her hand. "You don't have to try so hard to impress me." She looks up only to find Lexie truly embarrassed.  
"I already am." She adds chuckling. That gets her a genuine smile from Little Grey.  
"So do you have eidetic memory or something?" she continues while perusing the file.  
"u huhn" is all Lexie manages.  
"So superhero, why don't you let Dr. Shepherd and Dr. Bailey know that I'll be ready to join them in the OR as soon as I've taken a last look at his X-rays" She looked up to catch Lexie's eye and offer a small smile. "Are you scrubbing in too?"  
"I hope I can" says Lexie earnestly. "I mean, I'd love to learn. But I could do that if you just let me be in the OR. Even if I don't get to operate. I mean just standing there watching you three would be great too. But it would be greater to…"  
"Dr. Grey" Ginny butts in on her ranting. "Next time, could you keep your answers brief?"  
Lexie sheepishly lowered her head.  
"OK right now, you're going to be the errand girl and convey my message. Then you're gonna come scrub in with me on the surgery. And watch. And maybe, I'll even let you touch my special scalpel, and reveal to you the secrets of my witchcraft"  
Lexie grinned. And handing Dr. Fontane the folder containing the X-Rays she headed towards the door.  
"Have they spoken to the family?" Fontane asked, her voice totally devoid of the playfulness from earlier.  
Lexie paused and turned around "Yes. He's Dr. Bailey's patient originally. And Dr. Shepherd was there to meet the family today morning and explain the procedure. Would you like to speak to them too?"  
"Oh, no. NO. I'm just glad it's been done and out of the way. Operating on the patient- I'm awesome at that. Talking to the family- That's the part I like the least" she finished with a frown.  
Lexie didn't know exactly how to react to that. So she simply nodded her head and went off to look for Derek.

* * *

Callie's day had been truly awful. She hadn't lost any patients; her cases today had been truly banal. But the whole day she had spent trying to wrap her head around the idea that Arizona's ex would now be working in the hospital and that every day Callie would have to face her. And not just that, Arizona and her ex were still friends, it was there for all to see that they still had feelings for each other. Checking her watch once again, Callie purposefully strode into the attending's locker room.

Arizona's shift had ended and she was changing into her casual clothes when she heard the door to the room open and then after a moment she heard it being locked. She turned around, stuffing her clothes into her bag, to find Callie standing there, with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Hey, is your shift over too?" Arizona asked shutting her locker door and picking up her bag. "I was just gonna pick up Sofia and head home. But before that I'll just stop by to see Nick. On my way back should I get Pizza from that new place…"  
"Arizona" that single word from Callie was enough to shut her up and she stopped in her tracks. She finally noticed the angry, almost murderous look on Callie's face. She took in a deep breath. In all honesty, she knew this was coming. But she really hoped they didn't have to do this.  
"We need to talk" Callie continued.  
"Here?" The room maybe empty but Arizona knew that even the walls at the hospital had ears; she didn't want her private life becoming fodder for hospital gossip. "We have a lovely home, that we could go back to and after a nice dinner we could talk" she hoped the dimpled smile would help her case.  
"No" Callie replied with finality. "We are talking, and we're talking now. Cause once home, you'll just find more excuses. And that's all that I've been getting from you lately" Callie voice was slowly raising.  
"So ask me" Arizona answered with calmness, sitting down on the bench in the middle of the room and placing her bag beside her. If she knew Callie at all, she knew this could take a long time.  
Callie was just a little fazed by Arizona's calmness. "Ginevra." She said the name, like that could explain the whole problem.  
"What about her?" Arizona asked back, she wasn't yet willing to give Callie all answers.  
"Your ex is here, working at the hospital, you don't think I deserve some answers" Callie was pacing across the room in front of her.  
"Your ex works at the hospital too" Arizona replied back.  
Callie paused. So Arizona was gonna play it like that. "But you know about my ex. You never told me about yours" she glares at Arizona.  
Had Arizona been a lesser mortal she would have cowered under the gaze that Callie was fixing her with right now.  
"So, you know Ginny is my ex. She was someone I dated. Was." Arizona's tried to hold back her anger at Callie's immaturity. "Why can't you see that?" she asked frustration imminent in her voice.  
Callie scoffed. "What I see, is that you too still have feelings for each other. That's what I see. Really Arizona, you want me to believe that the way Ginny looks at you, and every time she tries to get physically close to you, all that is normal?"  
Arizona had had enough of it. "Your ex is the father of our child. He is in and out of our apartment at every odd hour, every single day. He still sees you naked, every now and then. I'm supposed to be fine with that. But you can't deal with my ex who is here to work. To work, Callie. And she is here as a friend." Arizona had given up trying to remain calm.  
Callie just opened and shut her mouth for a minute, before resuming "I thought you were beginning to like Mark. And Arizona he doesn't see me naked any more. And he's there at our apartment only for Sofia. I thought, I thought, we were past it" there was a defeated look on Callie's face.  
Arizona immediately softened at that. "yes yes, we are past it. Coz I love you, you love me. And we love Sofia. And to have our little family, to keep you guys, I can deal with Mark. And he's not half so bad. Don't tell him I said that, but you know, he's alright. And he's turning out to be a good dad. But…" she paused trying to find the right words. She wanted Callie to understand her, and understand Ginny.

Callie was tired too. And she wanted, more than anything, for Arizona to be honest with her. She wanted her wife to tell her everything. She wanted them to have a life where they shared things, not one where they hid their pasts from each other. And Callie knew whatever Arizona's past was, she would always love her. Heaven's knew, Arizona loved her even though she was broken and put her back together. Callie was prepared to do the same for her. If only Arizona would _tell _her.

Callie sat down beside Arizona and took her hand in hers. "But what? Tell me. Help me understand."  
Arizona took a deep breath. "I still care about her, Callie. I always will" Callie felt her heart constrict at that. So Ginny had been the one that got away.  
"But not the way I care for you" Arizona continued, her voice laced with her love for Callie. Callie lifted her eyes, and felt the azure orbs hypnotically pulling her towards themselves.  
"I love you. And you," she cupped Callie's cheek "you married me. You gave me every happiness I didn't even know I wanted." She leaned forward and captured Callie's lips in a kiss that conveyed all that she meant. Breathless Callie pulled away and kissed Arizona's forehead before starting to speak "Arizona, I…"  
But Arizona placed a finger on her lips to shut her up. "Ginny is my friend. You are my wife. Now take me home, and let me show you how much I love you." She placed another kiss on her wife's lips before lifting her hand, the one with the wedding band on the ring finger and brought it up to her lips. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I'm sorry for putting you through all the doubt and fear."

Callie was the one this time to cut-off Arizona with a kiss "I'm sorry for acting insecure. I love you." She said softly, wrapping up Arizona in a hug. "Let's go home."

* * *

Alex was standing by the nurse's station on the ped's floor when he felt a hand on his shoulder.  
"Hey" To say that he was pleasantly surprised to see the person standing next to him, would be an understatement. "Hey" he answered back in a strangled voice.  
"Have you seen Arizona around?" Ginny asked, dropping her hands from his shoulder and leaning against the counter. Her eyes searching the peds floor for the senior surgeon.  
Alex's face fell. In a moment of irrational hope, he had thought that Ginny was back in Seattle to see him. "Gone home for the day." But that's when it struck him. "What are you doing here?"  
Ginny turned to look at him with a broad smile on his face. "Oh don't you know? I'm the new head of the Oncology department."  
"We don't have an Oncology department" Alex countered, pocketing his pen and closing the file.  
"You have one now" she said flipping her hair back.  
"So now you're gonna be in Seattle" She nodded her head. "Working here at the hospital?" she nodded her head again. "And I'm…"  
Ginny laughed and took him by his shoulders "Yes yes yes. Now will you stop asking me stupid questions and help me celebrate. I had a wonderful first day. Rocked my surgery, that isn't new. But whatever, it was a successful surgery, and I need to celebrate. So, tell me that your shift is over and that you can come with me to Joe's" she had a cute pout on her face.

Alex considered her for a moment. Then he smiled (in that moment realizing that he smiled a lot around her) "Ok. First off, congratulations." He turned around, looping his hand with hers, and walking towards the elevator. He was rewarded with her melodious laughter.  
"Second, Oh my God, you pout! I didn't think you capable of that." He smirked. She rolled her eyes. "What? It's my sexy pout!"  
"Far from it" the elevator dinged on their floor. As they got in, Alex continued. "And thirdly, I know of other ways to celebrate than just drink at Joe's" pressing the button for the ground floor, he looked sideways at her, to see if she had caught his hint.

At her momentary pause, his heart stopped. What if she didn't want to do this with him anymore? What if he was acting clingy? What if that scared her away? His "What if" mental ranting was broken off by Ginny leaning closer to him and whispering in his ears "I knew you were smart."

* * *

As Callie lay holding Arizona long after they had both tired themselves telling and more importantly showing how much they loved each other, she pondered over the day that had been. It had started off with the less than pleasant surprise, and had just gone downhill from there. And then she had planned to confront her wife, and get some truths. And now lying there she realized, that her plan had only half-worked. She was secure in the knowledge that Arizona loved her and would never abandon her. She turned to place a light kiss on Arizona's bare shoulder. But she also realized that Arizona hadn't really told her about her past with Ginny.

* * *

**So anyone who thought Callie-Arizona-Ginny drama could be over in one chapter, was wrong. It's just started. Hang on for more.  
****But you gotta tell me, that you want more. Like I said, your reactions spur me on to write. So tell me how you liked, or did not like the characters and the developments in this chapter. What about Lexie? what's her role gonna be? Should I make Alex hopelessly in love with Ginny? Or should it all be just light-hearted? Looking forward to hearing from you, love-G**


	7. Chapter 5

**Third update in a week, I'm surprised with myself :P But as they say, when the Muse is singing, you let it rip! :D**

**It's wonderful to know so many of you are reading it, it would be lovely if you left a word or two about it, so that I know I'm going in the right direction with the story.**

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Shonda, I'm just playing with them.**

**Happy reading!**

* * *

"Are you free any time this week?" Ginny asked looking at Alex in the mirror, while she combed her long black hair.  
"Aaa…as free as any resident can get. Why?" Alex replied as he picked up his T-shirt off the bed and smelled it, deciding that it would do just fine.  
"Nothing much. I thought we could go check out a few apartments that are on sale. What say?" Ginny finished tying up her hair into a neat ponytail and picked up the compact powder to add finishing touches to her light make-up.

Alex stopped midway through pulling on his T-shirt over his head. To say that he was shocked would be an understatement. Here was this girl, whom he hardly knew for 3 weeks and she was already proposing going house-hunting with him. He felt like he was being sucked into a whirlpool of emotions. Not that he didn't like Ginny. He liked her. She was great. But the entire reason for his liking her was that she had wilfully agreed to a relationship with no strings attached. And suddenly out of nowhere, she was asking more from him, so much more. And Alex was definitely sure that he couldn't do "more" right now.

Upon the lack of an answer from Alex, Ginny looked at herself in the mirror one more time before turning around to face him. "What?" she asked, obvious confusion writ large on her face.  
That seemed to pull Alex out of his trance. He roughly pulled down his T-shirt over his head and began sputtering "Aaa…Ginny…This…isn't this…I mean…we…why the hell do we need to go house hunting?"

Ginny was standing with her hands on her hips, trying hard to figure out what was wrong with what she had said. Suddenly it dawned on her and she roared out with laughter. "Not "house-hunting" house-hunting silly." That seemed to visibly calm down Alex but he still looked confused. "Then what exactly does house-hunting mean?" he asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed to put on his sneakers.

Ginny continued to laugh as she sat down beside him, to slip on her pair of heels. "House-hunting meaning I need an apartment to stay. I can't go on living in a hotel for the entire period of my contract, can I? And it's really boring checking out these apartments alone. SO…" she said standing up, and turning to Alex, "I was asking whether you would come with me? And help me out? You know ask the realtor all the important questions? I have the tendency of getting excited and skipping all the important stuff" She placed both her hands on his shoulder bent down to Alex's eye level. Alex looked up into her eyes. "SO?" she asked again.  
Alex grinned as he shook his head "Yeah okay. If you promise not to freak me out again with such suggestions, I'll come with you."  
Ginny rolled her eyes before standing up. "I would have asked Arizona, but you know…" she just let the sentence hang in the air as she moved across the room to pick up her purse.  
"Even if she's busy, she would love to help you out" supplied Alex as he stood up and picked up his own bag from the bed. "And knowing her, she might even help pick out new furniture and wall paints."

Ginny laughed. She knew that was true. She could just ask her friend. But she also knew that someone would not be very happy if she did that. "Callie" was all she said as she picked up her phone and room keys.

Alex snickered as he followed her out of the room. "You still avoiding Callie in the corridors? She has you that scared?"

"Not scared." Ginny stated firmly as they walked towards the elevator. "I just don't want drama. And everything about Callie Torres screams drama." And she waved around her hands for the added emphasis.

Alex laughed but had to agree to that "Yeah well, she's had a fair share of it. But Callie's a nice person." Ginny gave him a look of disbelief as they stepped into the elevator. "Seriously, Ginny." Alex continued as he pressed the button for the lobby. "I know her."

"Meaning you've slept with her?" Ginny gasped.

Alex shook his head but smirked as he answered "Yes. But it's more than that. I've worked with her for long. And there are reasons why she is how she is." He stood there looking at Ginny with hands stuffed inside his pockets. Ginny considered what he was saying for a minute "You have to tell me all the stories." she grinned.

Their elevator dinged to a stop. As Alex exited out of it he chuckled "No way! I know that evil brain of yours." He tapped lightly on the side of her forehead.

"She deliberately makes my life at the hospital difficult, over rides my every decision, and yesterday at the meeting, she snickered at my specialty" Ginny was actually whining as she tugged on his sleeve.

"That's because you dated Robbins. And you don't make it very easy for her to forget that do you? Don't lie you actually enjoy trifling with her" Ginny screwed up her face in irritation but she couldn't keep the mischievous glint out of her eyes.

"Plus you're hot" whispered Alex as he bumped his shoulder against her. "Catch ya at…well catch ya when I catch ya" he grinned before waving her a goodbye and heading off towards his truck while Ginny smiled, shook her head at his illogical reasoning and hailed a cab.

* * *

"Calliope" Arizona's warning tone brought Callie out her reverie.

"What?" she sighed in irritation. "I can't even look?" She looked sideways at Arizona as she served out some salad onto her plate.

"That's not called looking, that's called glaring. And you promised you would try and give Ginny a chance." Arizona reminded her wife as calmly as possible.

"She, sitting there, eating lunch, talking and laughing with _my_ friends and behaving as if it was all _her _life, makes it a little difficult you know" Callie sulked.

"It is her life" Arizona shook her head slightly. "Callie, you've gotta be a little lenient while she adjusts herself to her new surroundings."

"Why doesn't she get the pep talk?" Callie pouted in retaliation.

Arizona chuckled. "Think of her as Mark part two. Rash, instinctive, childish, impulsive…Ginny isn't capable of mature decisions. But you, you're a mother and a wife. You're a mature capable surgeon able of putting aside petty distractions and being the bigger person, remember?" she honestly hoped flattering her wife would help. And it did seem to work, because Callie actually smiled. But then she went back to pouting "Being mature sucks"

Arizona let out a loud laugh at that, and quite a few heads in the cafeteria turned towards her. She caught Ginny looking at her and she waved her hand. Ginny waved back in response before turning her head back to listen to what Teddy was telling Mark and Bailey.

"So?" she asked turning her head towards Callie. "What is your plan of action?"

"Be more tolerant of Ginevra Fontane" she still couldn't stop herself from stretching out the vowel endings. "Act mature." She nodded her head as she recited every point.

"And remember that I love you" added Arizona as she placed a chaste kiss on Callie's lips.

* * *

"There's no other option but to remove the uterus completely." Ginny didn't lift her eyes from the file as she gave her pronouncements.

"But…" Lexie began but then she shut up, thinking the better of it.

"But what?" asked Ginny, finally looking up from her file. "You either talk in full sentences or don't talk at all, is that understood?"

Lexie hung down her head. "Sorry Dr. Fontane."

"Now what was it that you were saying?" Ginny asked sitting back in her chair.

"Cassandra Stan, the patient," Lexie began in an uncertain tone "and her husband David, are childless and trying for a baby. It was during the fertility treatment that they discovered her cancer. Removing the uterus would completely destroy their chances…" Lexie looked so beautifully naïve as she said that that it tugged at Ginny's heartstrings.

She sighed before speaking "Now that, Dr. Grey is a perfectly logical point. And you would be a foolish doctor to overlook the point, and even more foolish if you were to be afraid and not speak out your reservations regarding a diagnosis." She offered Lexie a small smile. "Lexie" she waited till Lexie was looking up at her "Mr and Mrs. Stan can think of other options so long as Cassandra Stan is actually alive. If we don't remove the uterus, it will quickly spread into the cervix and eventually to other parts of the body, and then she may not even live. Rack your brains, we don't have another option." She paused, and Lexie realized that Dr. Fontane was right. As always, she thought to herself.

She looked at the woman sitting in front of her in awe. 2 weeks of working with this woman and Lexie had already learnt so much. Fontane pushed her to think. And while she had to admit that Fontane's teaching methods were a little unusual, she nevertheless got to work on interesting cases.

"So will you be meeting them in the morning?" asked Lexie, taking the file extended from Fontane's hands. Fontane looked up to the ceiling before looking back at Lexie "Yes, unfortunately I would have to talk to them. But you," she suddenly leaned forward in her chair and pointed towards Lexie "you better be there. When I start getting all technical and rude, I want you to balance it all out, ok?" Lexie smiled.

"Do you need anything else?" she asked opening the door.

"Aaa…coffee. A mug of steaming hot coffee to keep me awake and help me get through this shit load of paperwork." Fontane answered dramatically, her hands picking up and letting fall a bunch of papers lying on her desk.

Before Lexie could say anything else though, Arizona arrived at the door with two cups of coffee in her hand. "Hold the door Lexie." she smiled as she stepped around Lexie and entered the room "Dr. Fontane, I hope you are in the mood for Coffeeeee" she smiled her dimpled smile. Lexie let out a chuckle even as Ginny screamed a "God Yesssss".

"Good night Dr. Fontane, Dr. Robbins." Lexie said finally as she slipped out of the door and closed it behind her.

"So Lexie Grey, huh?" Arizona commented as she handed Ginny her cup and sat down on a chair. She lifted her legs onto the chair next to her and leaned back.

Ginny sipped the coffee with a smile on her face and leaned back in her chair. "She's good." Was also she offered as she got back to sipping her coffee.

"Ahan?" Arizona lifted her eyebrows.

Ginny just looked down with a shy smile before speaking "So I'm guessing this is a social call and not you stopping for a consult. So what's up?" she looked back up with a full blown smile.

Arizona accepted her evasion of the question and nodded her head slightly as she began speaking "I just wanted to know how you're settling in. How you like the hospital, the facilities, the people…" she tried to sound as casual as she could as she adjusted herself in her seat.

Ginny looked at her curiously for a second before she smirked "Is this about me and Callie?"

Who was Arizona kidding? Ginny knew her perfectly well and after all that they had been through, she could read Arizona easily. So Arizona decided to jump right to the point.

"Enough with the testing, Ginny. Callie's a good person. And you would see that if you gave her a chance and give up continuously teasing her." Arizona said with a serious expression on her face.

"Me teasing her?" Ginny replied incredulously. "Callie is the one who has a problem with me. She just can't get over the fact that you and I dated once upon a time, and now she's acting all jealous bitch around me. Even in the OR, mind you" Ginny scoffed as she put her coffee down on her desk and leaned forward. "Me. I'm just playing her game. I'm not gonna just stand there and let her undermine me."

"No, you're just gonna rub in the fact that we dated right. And announce to the entire OR our little stories." Arizona rolled her eyes as she dropped her feet to the ground and swivelled around in her chair to face Ginny properly. "You don't make it easy for her, do you?" she smiled when she saw Ginny hang her head and refuse to look Arizona in the eye.

"Ginny?" she said softly. "Ginevra" she tried again placing her hand on Ginny's. Ginny finally lifted her eyes to meet Arizona's. "For my sake, can you give Callie a chance? Be more tolerant and understanding. Her insecurities are perfectly logical, you know." Ginny crumbled under Arizona's penetrating gaze and nodded. "And you will never refer to her as bitch, in my presence or otherwise" she added before sitting back in her chair. Ginny scoffed "I can't promise that." She caught Arizona's mock glare. Or what she hoped was a mock glare.

Seeing Arizona sitting there in the office, and them finally talking about a personal topic, Ginny decided she had to take the opportunity and ask Arizona the questions that had been plaguing her. "Zona?" she said dropping her voice. Arizona noticed the immediate change in tone and demeanour. She sat up straighter "What?"

"Are you happy?" Ginny asked without beating round the bush. "Is this your dream now? Does Callie make you happy?" Ginny didn't know any other way of asking Arizona. She cared about Arizona. And in the four years that they had been apart, the Arizona she knew was completely replaced by this new version of her. It wasn't necessarily a bad version. In fact, Ginny had to admit Arizona did look healthier and happier, but she had to ask any way. Asking and getting a direct reply from Arizona herself would be the only way of putting her doubts and fears to rest.

Arizona was a little taken aback at the bluntness of the question. And she took her time answering it. But Arizona knew the answer-knew the answer, by heart. She closed her eyes for a moment and pictured Callie and Sofia in their living room and a smile crept on to her face instinctively. "Callie and Sofia, alive, healthy, smiling- that's my happiness, that's my dream. I'm living my dream Ginny, and I'm so happy. Sometimes, I'm afraid that if I let myself realize how happy I am, I may anger the powers that be, and then it might all be snatched away from me. Sometimes, I wonder if I deserve any of it…" Arizona felt tears swimming in her eyes.

Ginny leaned forward with a smile and clasped her hands. "You deserve it all, you hear me? You deserve every bit of it." Arizona lifted her hand and wiped away the tears even as they threatened to spill out of her eyes. "And I'll do everything in my power to make sure you get all the happiness you deserve. And if Callie is the reason for your happiness, I can live with that. I'll make sure to not give her hell." Ginny gave her an honest smile.

Arizona cupped Ginny's face in her hands "Thank You." Ginny closed her eyes at Arizona's touch. "She is great. And you two are so alike, once you realize it, you guys could be great friends…" Arizona continued in a soft but excited whisper. "There's nothing that would make me happier…" Ginny was beginning to say something when the door to her office opened.

"Hey, I was wondering if…" Alex Karev walked right into the office but lifted his head and spotted Arizona just in time to stop himself from uttering something scandalous and/or foolish. Like a deer caught in the headlights, he looked from Ginny to Arizona and back to Ginny, before settling his gaze back nervously on Arizona.

Arizona quickly pulled her hand away from Ginny's face and stood up. She was as nervous as Karev. "What is it?" she asked him in a cliped tone.

"Aaa..uhn…that…the" Alex's brain was whirring at high speed. No one at the hospital knew about Ginny and him. And he wanted to keep it that way. "The lab results!" he almost squeaked. He caught Ginny relieved expression as she too stood up behind her desk. Alex controlled his emotions before continuing "You said you wanted the lab results asap." He prayed Arizona would buy his lie.

It was a good thing Arizona was as flustered as Alex, because even though she couldn't remember ordering any lab results, she took the opportunity to move the attention away from her and Ginny. "And where is it?" she asked moving towards him.

"Nurses' station" he supplied, easily.

"Then why are we standing here? Come on let's go." Arizona almost pushed him out of the door physically before stopping at the door and turning back to look at Ginny. "Thanks Ginny. It really means a lot to me." Ginny smiled back in reply.

What Arizona didn't notice was Alex putting his head back at the door as well as he caught Ginny's eyes and grimaced before ducking out and waiting for Arizona to join him.

Ginny slumped down in her chair as the door to her office closed once again. She heaved a sigh of relief. Arizona had been caught up in the moment to not notice the odd appearance of Karev at her office. She would have to ask Karev to be more carefully. She didn't want the entire hospital gossiping about the new attending that was sleeping with the resident. She took the last slip of her now cold coffee.

So she now had a new plan. Act mature. Be more tolerant of Callie. And for Arizona's sake, _Like_ Callie. Yeah, she could do that. She could totally follow the plan.

* * *

**House-hunting? Could that lead to something? And I love seeing Ginny in the center of a triangle with Arizona, Alex and Lexie...and oh one of you mentioned Mark too...Lets see what the Plan is...and if it works out at all :D**

**Your reviews help me write better. Lots of love-G**


	8. Chapter 6

**An update too soon? Sorry, I was a little impatient. The story's been brewing in my head for too long. Again, if you want me to make lesser updates per week, I could totally do that too :P Let me know!**

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Shonda, I'm just playing with them.**

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

Alex knocked on the door for the third time and waited patiently. Patiently because well, he was dead tired. And he decided that it would be easier to crash at Ginny's than drive all the way home. He heard shuffling inside and almost as he raised his hand to knock on the door a fourth time, the door flew open to reveal a giggling blonde, wrapped in the bedspread in a way that just covered enough of her modesty.

Her giggling stopped immediately and her face shaped up into a big O. "I…I thought you were the…the…you" she stammered while wrapping the sheet more tightly around her.

"Ummm…Ginny…Ginevra Fontane…I..no" Alex stepped back to check whether he had got the room number correct or not. 728. That's where he had been walking in for his almost daily rendezvous with Ginny. He looked back at the blonde, who opened her mouth once, then twice, but nothing came out and she hurried back down the passage into the inner rooms.

Alex simply stood there not knowing what to do. He almost considered walking back the same way he had come in, when Ginny walked up to him laughing even as she secured her night gown round her waist. "I was wondering whom she had mistaken for my boyfriend" she had a mysterious glint in the eye, her skin looked flushed and even with all her hair messed up (her sex hair, Alex called it) she still managed to look sexy. Alex took a moment to check her out from top to toe, before realizing the stupidity of his act.

"Aaa…I should just go. I didn't know there would be someone. I didn't mean to interrupt, I should have called. I'll just…" he backed out two steps before Ginny gave him a curious look and he stopped babbling.

"Alex, just stay. She's leaving anyway. Come in" and just like that without giving him any chance to discuss it she turned back and headed down to the room. Alex looked towards the door then towards the direction Ginny had disappeared. Just then the blonde came rushing towards the door. She had hastily dressed herself up and she was patting down her hair. She caught Alex standing there and coloured brightly. "I..I just…we just met…I didn't" she drew in a deep breath. "I'm straight!" it came out sounding more like a question and Alex couldn't stop himself from laughing. The mortified girl simply ran out of the door and Alex closed the door behind her.

Feeling more at ease he strolled into the bedroom just as Ginny came out of the bathroom with a toothbrush stuck in her mouth. As Alex let his jacket fall to the floor he asked good-humouredly "So you are screwing the straight girls in Seattle now? What happened to all the lesbians and the bisexuals?" He fell onto the bed and lay there spread eagle. Ginny came and stood near the bed, hovering over him and slapping his knees so that he would look up at her. "Shoes off" she scolded him with the toothpaste foam still in her mouth. "Sorry" he drawled, but without getting up he kicked off his shoes.

"You look exhausted." She stated simply. "There's leftover pizza" she pointed to the bedside table. Alex tried to follow where she was pointing but he was too exhausted to even lift his head and look. "I need a shower. You" she said bending down and poking his chest with her slender finger (that Alex often remarked were like an artist's) "…eat and sleep." With the last emphatic sleep some of the foam blew into Alex's face. Peppermint. He squinted his eyes. "Aargh… stop talking with toothpaste in your mouth. And get back fast, I need to blow off steam before falling asleep." He looked up at her expectantly.

Ginny just smiled and nodded her head. She walked back to the bathroom not before she had picked up his jacket and thrown it over the chair and kicked off his shoes to the side. Last thing she wanted was one of them tripping over them and falling. Even as she turned on the shower she knew Alex would be dead asleep to the world by the time she came out. She knew from first hand experienced that residency wrung out even the last bit of your energy. And she was right. She came out 10 minutes later to find Alex curled up in the centre of the bed. After applying her moisturizing cream, she slipped into bed herself, pushing him a little to the other side in the process. He grunted then moved his arm a bit. She pulled up the comforter to cover them both. As Ginny let herself fall asleep she felt his heavy arm fall back, this time round her waist. She was too tired to move it.

* * *

Callie was tired too. And it was just 8 o'clock in the morning. She had been paged in at an ungodly hour and she had been stuck in surgery since. She decided she had to have coffee and walked in into the attending's lounge. But there she was; the last person Callie wanted to see. Ginevra Fontane was standing with the coffee pot in hand, lost in reading the newspaper she was holding in the other. As she felt someone walk into the room she lifted her eyes and met Callie's.

Callie didn't know what to say. And by the look on Ginny's face neither did she. Since the past week the two had reached an unspoken agreement- do not engage unless absolutely necessary.  
"Dr. Torres" she said, for the lack of anything else to say.  
"Dr. Fontane" Callie replied in the self-same monotone.  
"Coffee?" she asked lifting the coffee pot higher.  
"Yes please" Callie said picking off a mug from the shelf and holding it in front of Ginny. She poured the coffee and then the two stood awkwardly for a moment before Ginny lifted her mug and took a sip. Callie did the same. The two looked at each other over the rim of their coffee mugs.

"I have a surgery, I'll catch you later" Ginny finally uttered as she quickly made her way to the door.

"Yeah, see you round." Callie said, wishing that she did not. Then just before Ginny disappeared out of the door Callie said a loud enough "Best of luck" that stopped Ginny in her tracks. She had a look of disbelief in her face, but she quickly schooled her features into a small smile, nodded a simple "Thanks" and left. Callie breathed a little easier. That, that went well. As promised to Arizona, Callie had acted maturely. She felt proud of herself and settled down on the couch to enjoy her coffee.

* * *

"So when are you coming back to neuro?" asked Derek as he signed his chart and looked at Lexie who was standing beside him, not working on his case but instead on yet another oncology case. Lexie looked up at him and blinked. She didn't know what to tell Derek. Sure she enjoyed Neuro, but when she was working on Oncology cases, she felt like she was pushing herself further and further. True it had been just a few weeks, but even then, every successful surgery gave her a sense of a miracle being performed. Here were these people coming to them when faced with near certain death, and here was Fontane working her magic and churning out healthy or comparatively healthy patients out of her OR. Even as Lexie contemplated how best to answer Derek's question, Ginny's voice floated over to them.

"Dr. Grey, did you collect Wilson's lab results?" she came and stood beside Derek. "Morning Dr. Shepherd" she greeted him with a smile. "Morning Dr. Fontane" he answered with his usual McDreamy smile. "I see you've completely enamoured Lexie and so I was asking her if she had any plans of heading back to neuro?" he said closing his folder. Ginny looked from Derek to Lexie before answering "Not in a long time, if I have my way." She flipped her hair back and clicked her pen as she took the results from Lexie's hands. Derek laughed and Lexie just stood there surprised. Dr. Fontane, wanted to continue working with her?

"Aha…wait till I have an interesting Neuro case and Lexie will come floating back to Neuro on her own" Derek caught Lexie's eye and winked before wishing Fontane a good day and walking away. Fontane called out a "Best of luck with that" to his retreating form before turning to look back at Lexie.

"Prep up an OR for the afternoon, I'm going to talk to Altman right now. We'll operate on his tumour immediately." Lexie was still a little pleasantly surprised by Fontane's earlier reply to respond to her as required. "Lexie, stop staring and get to work" Fontane said in a warning tone even as a small smile played on her lips. She turned back to look at the reports, but Lexie just stood there staring at her.

The woman was a mystery. One moment she was warm towards Lexie, talking to her like she was a child and showing and teaching her things in the OR. And almost in the next she would treat her with indifference, almost rudely at times. She had heard from Meredith who had heard from Yang, who had heard from Teddy that Fontane thought Lexie had potential, but never once had she actually said anything to Lexie herself. Not even a perfunctory "good."

"You think I'm good enough for Oncology? You would keep me from working on Neuro cases?" Lexie decided to ask her directly.

Fontane looked up from the reports "I haven't stopped you. You can go work in any department you like. Or rather any department that would want you." Lexie could feel her heart constricting a bit. "And you definitely wouldn't be good enough for oncology if you keep standing here. So off. Now!" she made a motion of shoo-ing her away. Lexie turned with a shocked expression on her face. That woman had MPD, thought Lexie even as she raced down the corridor away from her.

Arizona Robbins who crossed Lexie as she rushed away, didn't take time to guess the reason for the girl's odd behaviour.

"Ginevra, what have you been upto?" she asked as she came to stand near the brunette. Ginny looked up in confusion. "What? What did I do now?" Ginny tried to rack her head to recall anything stupid that she had done lately.

"That." Arizona pointed to the retreating form of Lexie as she rounded the far corner.

"Dr. Grey?" Ginny asked incredulously.

"Yes. Dr. Grey. Stop screwing with her head Ginny. I know you enjoy doing that to them, but don't. This could turn out ugly." Arizona turned to face her friend and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Who them? I have no idea what you're talking about Zona." Ginny stared back at Arizona in defiance.

"She is young, brilliant, impressionable…Stop doing this to her." Arizona looked dead straight into her eyes.

Something stirred within Ginny and she uttered out even before she could stop herself "That was me right when you first met me? Young, brilliant, impressionable…you mentioned it yourself one day. What did you do?"

She saw Arizona turning pale even as she said it. She bit her tongue. She shouldn't have said it. But now she had. And Ginny was too egoistic to take it back. So she simply turned her head and picked up her file. "I know Dr. Grey has potential and that she'll be great in whatever field she chooses. I'm teaching her the way I know. Your ways and my ways are different Arizona" and with those final words she walked away.

Arizona felt tears stinging her eyes. She knew what she had done to Ginny had been wrong. And Ginny had every right to be angry at her. But she still hadn't expected Ginny to throw the fact at her like that. Arizona hadn't felt this wretched in a long time.

* * *

"So who you banging Fontane?" Mark asked he sat down on the chair beside her, biting obnoxiously into his apple.

"If you're trying to get lucky, I have to tell you to stop trying" Ginny answered without even skipping a beat.

Teddy looked from Mark to Ginny like they had both gone crazy.

"No. You aren't doing me. You aren't doing Teddy, who I still assume is straight." He dodged a flying carrot thrown in his direction. "So who is it? You know the nurses are giving me nothing either." He looked earnestly at Fontane.

Ginny laughed. "What's got you suddenly interested?"

"Oh he's always interested in such things" Teddy answered with a roll of her eye.

"Look it's logical. Working hours at the hospital, and you especially trying to set up a new unit, it's got to be frustrating. So you need to let it all out. The hospital provides you with the easiest pool of targets. But you've been very discreet, and congratulations to you for that, but I was just asking if you are adequately satisfied?" he wiggled his eyebrows.

Ginny roared with laughter. "Oh Mark, you needn't worry about it, I assure you. I'm satisfied, thank you" she went back to sipping her coffee. Further discussion was interrupted by Ginny and Teddy's pager going off simultaneously. "Ah, you done?" Ginny asked looking up from her pager at Teddy. Teddy wiped her face with a tissue before getting up. "Yeah, let's go."

"Hey , hey , hey!" Mark stood up too. "You're leaving without giving me a name?" Ginny thought he looked like superman as he stood with hands placed on his hips. She laughed. "There are too many to give you" she whispered as she walked past him and followed Teddy out of the door.

* * *

Callie found Arizona sitting slumped in her office chair with her head held in her hands. "Hey honey, what's up?" She quickly pulled a chair close to her wife and sat down.

Arizona looked up and gave a small smile when she realized that it was Callie. "Is your shift over?" she asked in a hoarse whisper.

"Yeah, I was just gonna head home with Sofia. You done yet?" Callie asked as she ran a hand down Arizona's back. She knew something was wrong with Arizona.

Arizona looked at the mass of papers on her desk. "Not yet. I just didn't get round to finishing my work this evening." She avoided looking Callie in the eye.

"What is it baby? Tell me." Callie was getting more worried by the minute, and so she gently turned Arizona's face towards her. "Did someone say something? Owen? Did you lose a patient?"

Arizona drew in a deep breath. "No. No. Nothing of that sort. I just…I was…thinking about something in the past. And I was feeling a little overwhelmed." She offered a weak explanation.

"Does this have to do with Ginny?" Callie asked her anger immediately flaring up. "Did she say something to you?"

"Callie." Arizona looked up finally and met Callie eyes. "There's a lot in my past. And I was just wondering if…if I've evolved into a better person or not."

Callie knew the answer to that. She leaned forward and before she captured Arizona's lips in a searing kiss she whispered "You are the most amazing person I know."

* * *

"You are actually amazing with kids" Alex was startled as Ginny came and stood by him at the deserted nurse's station.

Alex just shrugged his shoulders. "What are you doing here so late?" he questioned her as he signed the charts.

"Wondering if Arizona is still around. I was kind of a bitch to her earlier, I wanted to apologize" she looked down.

"Out of luck, she's gone home for the night. But you could always just go over to her place and apologize. If there's one thing I've learned is that with friends you should put your egos aside." He said as closed his folder and turned to look at her directly.

"Wow, Obi Wan, that's insightful. But there's a little problem, I don't know where she stays. I mean I know it's somewhere around here, but I've never really been over there. Considering my relationship with Callie I didn't think it congenial to visit Arizona at her home" Ginny ran a hand through her hair as she gave Alex an honestly lost expression.

"She lives across the street. You couldn't miss it even if you wanted to" Alex had already started walking towards the elevator when he realized Ginny wasn't following him. "What?" he asked when he saw her shocked expression.

"Which building exactly?" Ginny asked still rooted to her place.

"Umm…the cream coloured one." He answered trying to remember its exact name.

"The cream coloured one next to the red brick building?" Ginny squeaked.

"Yesss" Alex had no idea why she was freaking out.

"Oh shit." Ginny held her hands in her head.

The elevator dinged open on their floor. "What happened now?" seeing her expression, Alex wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

"Today morning after I left you, I signed the papers to purchase the penthouse on that building" Ginny answered letting her hands fall to her side.

_Why did her plans always have to go haywire?_

* * *

**So, did you like the new developments? Not enough drama? Too much of it?**

**Anyone figured out, who Ginny actually likes? :) **

**As always I love hearing from you, what you think about it. Also thank you everyone who's read it, added it to their alerts and especially those who reviewed. (P.S- even you, who reviewed in Portuguese and I had to use google translate to figure out you weren't abusing me :P :D )**

**Thank you, lots of love- G**


	9. Chapter 7

**Here's yet another chapter because you guys have been so great! :)**

**Also I'd like to clear somethings- quite a few of you have wondered why this story goes under the tab of C/A and if it focuses more on Alex. One thing, I'd like to ask you is to have patience. The story is just taking off. Characters need to be established. And for me stories involving Callie and Arizona are C/A fics, they needn't always be acting lovey dovey with each other. If you are expecting pure C/A fluff this story isn't for you. There's going to be drama, and there are going to be other doctors involved too.**

**That said, I'm not gonna deny that a lot of drama is gonna be centred around C/A just like it has been all this while.**

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Shonda, I'm simply playing with them.**

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

"Do you have stones in this or what?" huffed Alex as he carried the last remaining box and stepped into the elevator behind Ginny.

Ginny laughed as she balanced a box on her hip and pressed the button for the top floor. Then turning to Alex she pointed at the big bold lettering across the top of the box. "It carries what it says it carries."

"Books?" asked Alex incredulously. "Since when do you read books? I've never seen you read a book." He complained.

"That's because when you come I'm distracted enough to not read a book." She smirked and Alex bumped his shoulders against her lightly as he laughed. She paused and drew in a quick breath before continuing "There was a time when I used to just lose myself in books." Alex looked sideways and realized that there was a distant look on her face, like she was someplace else, far far away from him. Before he had a chance to ask her anything about it, the elevator doors dinged open, a floor below the one they required, to reveal a man and his giggling baby.

Mark took a step forward and looked up. First there was a surprised look on his face, but very soon it turned into a full blown grin. "So" he said looking from Alex to Ginny "you're banging Alex Karev."

* * *

"Don't you have to get your kid to the daycare or something?" Ginny said, as she blew her hair out of her face.

"Nah, we have time" replied Mark as he stood leaning against the doorframe with Sofia in his arms. As she began wiggling uncontrollably, Mark looked at his daughter before continuing "Sof, bug, please. This is really interesting. If you were grown up enough, you would see the amazing possibilities for fun to be derived out of this situation." He grinned when he looked back at Ginny.

Alex came out of the inner room at that moment. "Aa…I kept the boxes where you needed them." He rubbed his dirty hands on his trousers. "I'll get going."

"So fast?" Mark asked. "Ginny is this how you treat the poor guy? Shouldn't you pay back in kind for his troubles?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Get the hell out, Mark!" Ginny shouted back and threw the cleaning cloth she was holding, at him for good measure. "And Alex stay." She continued turning to Alex. "Once he leaves, we could go out to the diner and get something to eat." She glared back at Mark "Once you leave, Mark" She crossed her arms across her chest and waited.

"OhhK!" Mark said with his trademark lopsided grin on his face. "I'll leave you two to it then. Our new neighbours aren't inviting us in, Sof" Sofia looked from her father to the other people in the room. When she realized they were leaving she waved her pudgy hands at them. Mark almost ducked out of the door before putting his head back in "Ummm..btw Ginny." He waited for Ginny to look at him before continuing "Have you told Arizona and Callie yet?" He knew the answer already, but that didn't mean he would pass up a chance to enjoy her discomfort.

The entire attitude went flying out of Ginny's demeanour. She looked towards Alex who gave her a sympathetic nod. She gave a huge sigh and sat down on the couch. "I have no idea how to!" As Alex came to sit down beside her, Mark joined her on the other side. "I mean I've created enough trouble for them already, haven't I?" she looked at Mark, who gave nothing away but continue to look at her with a look he often gave Sofia. "Callie might just kill me." She lowered her head on Alex's shoulder. Then covering her face with her hands she continued in a muffled tone "God, What am I gonna do?"

Mark and Alex shared a look over the top of Ginny's head. Sofia leaned forward from Mark's arms and tried to uncover Ginny's hands as she babbled away.

"Throw a house warming party!" exclaimed Mark, jumping slightly on the couch in the process. "Invite everyone. That way Callie will learn about it along with everyone else." Mark frowned when he realized that Ginny wasn't getting excited about it.

"And how is that a good thing?" she scrunched up her face.

"Callie wouldn't kill you in front of everyone. She's got more sense than that. So she will get time to blow off steam. And then of course Arizona can handle her."

Ginny turned to look up at Alex. "Bad plan." He stated simply. "Bad bad plan. And you would be crazy to under estimate Callie"

"It's a brilliant plan. Bring out the booze and the snacks Fontane, and seeing as you've got enough money to spend on a penthouse, I assume you have enough to throw an amazing house-warming party" With that he stood up. "Now seeing as I have lives to save, I'll head out, leave you two to do your thing" he jiggled his hips as he said that. "Great score Karev!" he called out even as he walked out of the door.

"Daddy always comes up with brilliant plans" Ginny heard Mark coo to his daughter, and slumped back against Alex on the couch.

* * *

The OR was filled with awkward silence. Callie and Ginny had reached an impasse. Arizona just stood there looking between the two head-strong women, hoping one of them would compromise before it was too late for her patient.

"Doctors" she stressed again. "Can we leave our personal issues behind and work together?"

"Everything isn't about you Arizona" Ginny snapped back at her. Then she turned her head towards Callie and stepped up to her. Callie towered inches above her and so she had to look up but she didn't blink. "Dr. Torres, last time I checked I was the Oncological surgeon. And this is my case. We do as I say."

"It's a case of Ewing's sarcoma, it's as much as my case as yours. Because if I may remind you," Callie took a step forward too. "it involves the bones and eventually the decision rests on me" she pointed an authoritative finger to herself "an orthopaedic surgeon, whether we ampute the leg or insert Titanium rods. And I say we got with option number two."

"But that will result in the recurrence of the tumour. And could mean another round of chemo therapy sessions. It will effectively kill the child."

"There are 40% chances of a recurrence. And you want me to ampute the leg? With titanium rods the child could have a chance at a normal future."

"But that wasn't what we decided. Arizonaaaa" Ginny half-growled as she whipped her head around to look at Arizona.

"Callie" Arizona said between gritted teeth.

Callie turned towards her and said defiantly "That's when I had only seen the X-rays and the PET scans, but here in reality, she's taken out the tumour cleanly, all blood vessels are intact, the bone is salvageable. You know Arizona, what this could mean for the kid."

Arizona took in two deep breaths. The decision now rested with her. She was standing with her hands inside a child's body, she had to think fast. She decided to screw diplomacy and do what she felt was correct. "We'll go ahead with titanium rod replacements." Callie smiled and Ginny simply glared at her.

"This is nonsense Arizona!" Lexie shrank to the side as Ginny raised her voice and turned to face Arizona. "What happened to your professionalism?" she was livid.

Arizona scrunched up her face in irritation "My professionalism is intact. I'm doing what I think is correct."

"No you're doing what you think will get you laid when you go back home." Ginny shouted even as she backed away from the table.

"And our personal lives is none of your business" Callie observed as she readied the things to continue with her procedure.

"It is when it interferes with my work!" Ginny was now full on shouting.

Callie wasn't going to hold back either "You're the one who's interfering with our lives. You drop in suddenly and everything turns topsy-turvy. You are the one…"

"Enough!"

Both women stopped and turned to look at Arizona, who had a deadly calm look on her face. "Ginevra you can leave _my_ OR, I think we'll manage alright from here on. Calliope after you're done with the procedure you will _go find_ Ginevra wherever she is and apologize for your behaviour. Lexie you will stay and complete the surgery with me." Arizona didn't give either woman chance to argue as she began hustling around the OR asking for a scalpel.

Ginny left the OR without another word. After 10 minutes of silence Callie attempted to say something but she was cut off by Arizona "I thought you knew better than to make our private lives fodder for hospital gossip." Her blue eyes cut through Callie's heart. "And I mean it Calliope, you apologize or you won't like the consequences." Those were the final words that were uttered between the two in the OR for the next 2 hours and 15 minutes.

* * *

Ginevra had gotten time to blow off steam. She was sitting in her office feeling stupid. She had come in and destroyed the lives of a happy couple, and she felt wretched because of it. Even so because it was Arizona. Arizona, whom Ginny had promised to herself she would always look out for. So she got up and headed towards the Ortho floor. She had things to clear with Callie.

Callie decided she had procrastinated enough. She had always had problem apologizing. But this time she knew she had to do it. She had crossed the line. With or without Arizona's threat, she knew what had occurred in the OR today was abominable. She got up and left her office with the intent of heading down to the Oncology Department and apologizing to Ginny.

As the elevator stopped at the desired floor Ginny looked up from her nervously fidgeting hands and was surprised to find Callie on the other side.

"Dr. Fontane, I was coming to speak with you" Callie started speaking.

"I…me…I just wanted to" Ginny didn't know how to say it.

"If you're done with your shift, we could go get drinks at Joe's and talk it over" Callie proposed.

That seemed like a good enough option. "Yeah" Ginny slowly nodded her head. "Over drinks."

* * *

20 minutes later the two women were sitting across each other at a table at Joe's. Both were fidgeting with their second glass of coke and gin.

"I wanted to apologize for my behaviour" Callie was the first to begin.

"Me too" Ginny added quietly. Callie looked up from her glass to meet Ginny's eyes. "I never meant to wreck your lives" she continued "I thought coming to Seattle would be good, but it's all just turned out horribly wrong!" Ginny lowered her head into her hands.

Callie was seeing this side of Ginny for the first time. "It was my fault too." Callie stated simply. "I was the one who was insecure, without the cause for it. I wasn't kind to you when you first came"

"You weren't kind to me ever" Ginny quipped. Callie gave her a quizzical look. "I was a bitch to you too." Ginny continued.

Callie let out a bitter laugh at that. "We both were."

There was an amiable pause. Callie signalled Joe for a round of shots. When it was brought over she took one and continued speaking "And we both care about Arizona." Ginny finally looked up at her and picked up a shot herself. "And Arizona cares about both of us too. And in the process of us fighting, we hurt the one person we both didn't want too."

Ginny nodded her head slowly as she drowned her first shot and picked up a second. "You know I could have Arizona if I wanted to" Callie spluttered out her drink. "What?" she asked incredulously. Here she was trying to mend things with the woman and she was challenging her. Callie's anger immediately flared up "And you think I would have let you? She would never leave me or Sofia. Never" Callie hissed out in anger as she leaned closer to Ginny. Ginny looked up and blinked at her.

"Completely off the point Torres" Ginny drawled on. "Like I said IF I wanted to. I. don't. want. her." Ginny looked straight into Callie's eyes. Callie accepted that answer and settled back down throwing back a third shot into her mouth. As the warm liquid burned down her throat she concentrated back on what Ginny was saying.

"Not this new Arizona. The woman is sickeningly in love with you" she stuck out her tongue. And in that moment Callie thought she looked like a teenager, and if Callie was honest a drunk teenage version of Callie herself. "When I knew her, she wanted different things, she had different dreams, she was a different person. But with you…with you, she's someone altogether new. She isn't just driven towards becoming a better doctor, who I see now is someone constantly striving to be a better person." Callie smiled. They were talking about Arizona. And whenever Arizona was mentioned Callie couldn't help but smile.

Ginny emptied another shot before continuing "You know all our conversations," Callie nodded her head ruefully, how she felt jealous watching the two sit and talk during lunch hours "they always centred around the new things Sofia's been up to, and how proud Tim would have been to see her." There was a sad smile on Ginny's face.

"So no" Ginny sat up straighter and stated emphatically "you can keep the new Arizona Robbins."

Callie smirked "Yeah? Thank You. Why, there's no way in hell I would let her go"

"Good." Ginny stated simply leaning forward towards Callie. "We'll try to keep it like that. You're a good person, like Alex said. I'd rather have Arizona be with you too." Ginny had a faint inkling that what she was saying wasn't making much of a sense, but she let it pass. This felt good- sitting and talking to Callie, letting it all out.

"So" Callie said holding out her hand "let's start afresh. You and me."

Ginny took the proffered hand and beamed. "Hi, Callie, I'm Ginny"

Callie giggled "Hi Ginny, it's a pleasure to meet you"

Their happy session was interrupted by Joe as he walked over to them. "Ladies, it seems like you're having a good time. And I hate to break this up but…"

"It's ok Joe" said Callie taking out some bills and putting it on the table. "Thanks. We'll leave" she looked up and smiled at him.

Joe smiled back. "Always a pleasure Callie. But" turning to Ginny who was slumped over the table "I'll have to ask you miss to hand over your keys, if you're driving home tonight."

"I don't have a car" Ginny stated simply picking up her head.

Callie intervened again as she stood up and stated "I'll take care of her Joe. Hail a cab for her" As Joe nodded his head and walked back Callie lifted up Ginny by her elbow. She looked like an outright drunk.

"Come on let's get you home. Or is it hotel? Archfield right?" Callie opened the door and the two stepped out into the open air.

"uhn…_There_" Ginny pointed across the street. Before Callie had a chance to speak Ginny was pulling her across the street to _her_ apartment building.

"You live here? I live here." Callie laughed and turned around to hail a cab. "Here let me hail you a cab"

"Nooo" Ginny flailed her arms about. "You live here but I live here too." She pointed to the top of the building.

"The penthouse?" Callie squeaked.

"Yep." And with that Ginny walked into the building. She stopped inside and turned back to look at Callie "Aren't you coming?"

Callie stood their bewildered. Yes she was now friends with Arizona's Ex. Or at least they were not biting down at each other's throat. But she had no idea how to react to the fact that the said ex would now be living in their same apartment building.

_She didn't have a contingency plan in place!_

* * *

__**As always I would love to hear your thoughts on it. Like last time, some of you reminded me I should wind down on the drama and bring matters to a resolution, and I believe this is a minor step in that direction.**

**On the medical front, if there are mistakes, I apologize- all of my info is drawn from the web.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing, and like I said depending on your response, you get the next dose of the drama. Lots of love- G**


	10. Chapter 8

**And here's a new chapter! :) Thanx for the wonderful updates, they make my day. And thank you everyone for your patience. Happy Reading!**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Shonda, I'm just playing with them.**

* * *

"And you're OK with it?" asked Arizona for the third time that morning as she watched Callie expertly flip the pancake.

"Yessss Arizona" Callie drawled.

"And you're not angry?" Arizona asked wide-eyed.

Callie finally turned around and placing the plate of pancakes in front of her wife she spoke slowly and deliberately "For the love of God Arizona, for the final time, I'm ok with Ginny living in our same apartment building. I'm not and I repeat for the final time, not angry." She smiled and poured a little blueberry syrup over the pancakes and pushed the plate towards her wife "Now eat up."

Arizona looked from her wife to her plate and then back up at her wife "What exactly happened?"

Callie feigned ignorance as she looked away, busying herself in cleaning the counter top "What happened when?"

"Well the other night? At Joe's. I mean just before that I was pulling you two away from biting each other's head off and suddenly you two are chummy pally and she tells _you_," Arizona pointed her finger at Callie "you of all people, even before she tells _me_," she pointed back at herself "her friend, that she's moved into the same apartment building. And to top it off, you're ok with it? What happened to you acting all jealous over me?" Arizona had confusion clearly etched on her face.

Callie couldn't help but laugh when she looked at Arizona. She came around and placing her hands on the counter she leaned closer to her wife as she lowered her voice and said "You like me acting all jealous do you?" She wiggled her eyebrows.

When Arizona turned her face to meet her wife's eye, she realized that Callie was standing closer to her than she anticipated and in that moment, having Callie leaning over her with the added effect of the low voice in which she spoke, Arizona temporarily lost the point that they were arguing about and honestly answered "It looks so sexy on you."

Callie noticed the unexpected darkening of the baby blue orbs and as her wife leaned forward all that she could utter was a faint "yeah?" before she felt her lips being captured by Arizona. Callie instinctively brought her hands down on Arizona's waist and stepped up closer to her as she deepened the kiss. Because Arizona was seated on the stool, she had her hands around Callie's neck and was pulling her down even as she was pulling her into her. When oxygen became a necessity, the two separated but Callie didn't move away as she placed her forehead against Arizona waiting for Arizona to open her eyes.

When she did open her eyes though, Arizona's eyes were clouded with concern. She placed one palm over Callie's heart as she began speaking "Tell me the truth Calliope, are you truly ok with this?" She looked into Callie's eyes earnestly.

Callie sighed. "I am. I spoke with her. We started afresh." She wasn't going to recount to her wife all their drunken nonsense. But Ginny and she had actually reached an understanding, and after Ginny's honest confession Callie was feeling less threatened. Not completely secure. When it came to Arizona, there was always this irrational fear in the back of Callie's head that she would lose her. Guess that came with loving someone so much, that you always feel like that person could be taken away from you and your happy world could be turned upside down.

"Plus it's not something that we can change now, can we? She's got to stay somewhere, can't go living in a hotel. And for her it's a rational decision to move in some place close to the hospital. And she did. I don't think there was any hidden malice in that. And I'm ready to know her, for your sake, and also" Callie took in a deep breath "as someone who cares about you."

Arizona averted her eyes. Callie kept her one hand still resting on Arizona's waist as she lifted the other to turn Arizona's face towards her "She is sorry for hurting you"

Arizona smiled softly "Look at you, speaking on behalf of her." Callie smiled too. "I know she didn't mean them, she's just a little hot-headed. But that's only because she's passionate and she really protects the things that she cares about…" she stopped short, wondering if she was irking Callie by speaking about Ginny. Callie seemed to have caught her train of thought "No, I'm not jealous hearing you talk about her." Then she paused and shook her head "No, wait maybe I am. But only, only because she knows the old you, and she gets you in ways I don't, I can't or…or in ways you won't let me" there was a sadness in Callie's voice. Arizona started speaking up but was stopped by Callie placing a finger on her lips. As she slowly ran a finger across Arizona's bottom lips she spoke softly "And I'll wait for it. Wait for you to tell me when you feel the time is right. I don't want you to tell me simply because I'm married to you, but to tell me because you want to share it with me" she placed a small kiss on her lips.

Arizona was moved by Callie opening up her heart like that. "I want to share my whole life with you, Calliope." She cupped Callie's face with both her hands "It's just that…some memories are painful…and I only need you to give me time, time to make peace with myself."

Callie whispered "We have all our lives, Arizona, all our lives together" She lowered her lips to meet Arizona's in a slow loving kiss, unhurried and sweet. It was like a promise. A promise that they would always be there, sharing their lives, till eternity.

They broke apart when there was a loud knocking on the door. Callie parted and said with irritation "Now if that is Ginny, I'm going to be really really pissed!" with a quick kiss on Arizona's lips she went to open the door. Arizona laughed lightly as she mused about the perfect start to her day and waited to see whom the door revealed when it opened.

As ever it was Mark. With Sofia, whom he'd come to hand over before he left for work. "What took you so long to open the door?" he asked as he stepped into the room and walked over to Arizona. "Here she is, your daughter's been asking for you ever since she woke up" He handed Sofia to Arizona's waiting arms. Sofia immediately snuggled up to her momma. Callie looked lovingly at the two as she walked towards them.

"So you two coming for the party tonight right?" He asked as he flopped down on the stool next to Arizona and took a bite off Arizona's plate. Callie snapped away his hands, but he still managed to get one bite. Arizona didn't answer she simply looked at Callie. Callie gave her a broad smile "Of course we are Mark, we would be horrible neighbours if we didn't go."

Mark looked surprised too and he eyed Callie sceptically before asking Arizona "What happened to the WW III? Did you just douse all the fire and spoil all the fun, just when the two were getting into combat mode?"

Arizona chuckled. It was Callie who answered "Some of us are mature adults Mark. We compromise, we make new starts." Mark still looked like a child who'd missed his favourite TV show. "I'll call the baby sitter for the evening" Callie continued as she picked up the phone.

Realizing that there was no fun to be had, Mark stood up. "Aargh…married people are no fun. Anyways I'll catch you guys at the party" and with that he dropped a kiss on Sofia's head, waved the two women goodbye and walked out of the door whistling to himself.

* * *

The whistling wind blew Teddy's hair as she stood on the balcony of Ginny's penthouse. The glass door separated the noisy party inside and the quite night outside. Or as quite as any weekday night in Seattle could be. She silently sipped her drink and thought about Henry and their house warming party. Her reverie was broken by Ginny who stepped out into the night air and shut the door behind her.

"Who's that Asian looking woman?" she asked as she came to stand by Teddy.

"Cristina Yang, resident, cardio." Teddy supplied easily and took another sip.

"Remind me the next time I invite her I shouldn't leave my alcohol cabinet unlocked." Teddy joined in on Ginny's laughter. But then she instantly fell silent and turned her head back to look at the starless sky.

Ginny simply stood by her sipping her own drink. Teddy had almost forgotten about Ginny's presence until she spoke again "I don't know how it feels to lose one's husband, or even to lose someone you love." Teddy didn't say anything. She had heard these things being said before. "But I do know what it feels to be lonely." Ginny continued without looking at Teddy. Like her, Ginny too had her face turned upwards to the sky. "Lonely among a host of people who don't know you, much less care about you. Faces that look at you with only pity or with indifference. No one who looks at you for who you are. No one who lets you be who you want to be." She paused. Teddy had been listening intently and she turned to face Ginny when she paused. The woman was so much younger than her. Sometimes she looked like just a young girl. Teddy often wondered if she was capable of doing all that they said about her. At the hospital she was another being altogether- confident bordering on arrogant, laughing, joking, even giving Mark a run for his money, teasing Callie, distant with the patience yet invested in her cases- but here, right now as she looked at her, she saw a woman who had experienced much, seen much and when those words left her mouth they didn't seem hollow. She waited for Ginny to continue speaking. Ginny drew in a shuddering breath before she spoke again.

"And you, you are far from lonely." She turned to look directly into Teddy's eyes. "You are selfishly shutting yourself away from people who love you, who care about you. I envy you." And with those words Ginny drowned the last of the brown liquid in her glass before turning and leaving. Teddy watched her go and then lost her as she mingled with her guest. But she did spot Miranda looking at her from inside and so she waved at her. Drawing a breath, Teddy let a natural smile grace her face as she stepped back into the party.

* * *

"Why aren't all our attendings as cool as her?" asked Yang as she picked up the appetizer from the plate and eyed it curiously. "What is this thing?"

"How does it matter, as long as it tastes good?" asked Alex as he munched on some salted peanuts.

"Where can I get a clean glass around here?" April asked as she held a bottle of water in her hand and looked around.

"Second cabinet on your left" Alex replied naturally.

April turned without question, opened the said cabinet and took out a glass.

"How did you know that?" Avery asked with a bemused expression on his face.

I kept them there, Alex wanted to say. Instead he took a swig from his beer bottle and replied nonchalantly "I saw someone take it out from there earlier"

"She's good you know" Lexie suddenly spoke up dreamily, interrupting Avery from whatever he was going to say.

"She's a swell of a doctor" Yang conceded.

"She's got sexy legs" Avery chimed in.

Alex turned around to get a better look at her. She was standing with Mark in the opposite corner of the room and the two were animatedly discussing something. Since he had come in that evening, he hadn't spoken to her much. Once she had caught his eye from across the room and winked at him and twice when they had crossed each other she had smiled at him. Nothing more.

"I think she and Sloan are doing it" Yang sang as she swivelled in her chair uneasily.

"How does Sloan get so lucky always?" Avery wondered out aloud.

Lexie's dreamy look fell off her face. She suddenly sat up a little straighter. She wasn't with Mark. And she knew she had to separate her personal and her professional, but the little fact that Fontane could be sleeping with Mark made her heart constrict. While the others wondered about Sloan's luck, Alex smiled as he took another swig.

* * *

It was almost midnight by the time the party wound down. The doctors who had an early morning shift, left early. Mark had left early too, to relieve the baby sitter. Callie and Arizona were the last to leave.

As they stood by the doorway with their hands interlinked, Ginny beamed "Thank You sooo much for coming guys. It means a lot to me" she said the last part looking directly at Callie.

"Just being a good neighbour" Callie smiled. "Oh and you have excellent taste in wine, I'm never missing a party at your place so long as you keep the wine flowing"

Ginny was genuinely touched by Callie's attempt to make things normal between them. "Booze always helps to make matters better." She winked at Callie and Callie laughed.

"You sure you don't want us to help clean up the place, it looks like a battlefield" Arizona commented as she looked past Ginny into the room.

Ginny looked over her shoulder and surveyed the disaster that was her living room. "Nah, it's ok. I'll clean it up tomorrow morning, or I'll just have one of those cleaning services come over." Turning her head she continued with a smile "beside it's not polite to make your guests clean-up"

"Look at you acting like you cared about such decorum" Arizona teased her friend. "Listen, I have a case I need to consult you with; I'll talk to you in the morning before shift starts ok?"

Ginny scratched her head slightly "Morning?" she pouted. "I'll have to wake up in the morning?" she whined. When Callie and Arizona laughed she continued with a small smile "Just could you make sure to wake me up tomorrow morning?" Then looking at Callie she added a quick "If it's not a problem that is."

"Sure, it's not a problem." Arizona said, and Callie simply looked at the two friends with a bemused expression on her face. "And remember I'll pound on your door till you don't wake up". And with that the couple said goodbye and left and closing the door behind them Ginny went and flopped down on the couch.

She looked at all the dirty plates and the empty booze bottles, and just the general way her very sparse furniture has been disarranged. She shuddered to think what would have happened if she'd actually finished decorating her house. She would have had to do it all over again. She hated a dirty room. Whatever her other vices, she always liked her stuff arranged in an orderly manner and all the accumulated rubbish strewn across her apartment was beyond irritating her. She was never gonna have another party where she invited strangers to ruin her home. With a sigh she got up to clean the mess.

10 minutes later the doorbell rang out. She checked the time and wondered who it would be at such a late hour. Maybe someone, who had forgotten something. She opened the door and it revealed a sleepy looking Alex Karev leaning against the doorframe. "Hey" he smiled when he saw her.

"Hey" she said surprised. "What're you doing here?"

"Came to help you clean up." He stated simply. "I know you hate a messy room." She smiled broadly, he stepped in and she closed the door behind him.

* * *

"Yeah, I'll meet you for lunch ok" Arizona said as she kissed Callie goodbye. "I'll just go wake up Ginny on my way out. Love you Honey" she kissed her once more before picking up her purse and keys.

Callie smiled. "Tell Fontane that she can come down and have breakfast if she wants." Arizona turned to look at her with surprise but Callie had gone back to reading the newspaper. She grinned and exited the house.

She was humming lightly as she bounded up the one flight of stairs and reached Ginny's floor but her mouth dropped open in shock as she saw Alex Karev come out of the door with a grin on his face.

He hadn't seen Arizona standing on the top of the stairs because he was concentrating on something that Ginny was saying. He laughed at her reference to the penguin dance in "Happy Feet" she said "Look at you getting all emotional at something so trivial. You're crazy you know that!"

"Karev!" Arizona's booming voice resounded off the walls. He whipped his head to look at her and froze when he saw the murderous look in her eyes "You ungrateful son of a bitch, you're screwing my friend?"

Alex had no plans on how to deal with Robbins. And seeing the look on her face, he knew that plan or no plan he was royally screwed!

* * *

**Woho! Big things planned for next chapter. But, there's a tiny but, I have term paper to research for and the next update may take time. However, and there's a big however, if I get awesome reviews they might just spur me to write the next chapter faster.**

**As always I love hearing what you think about the chapter? Also a question- How do you guys like Ginny so far?**

**Thank You for reading and reviewing! Lots of love- G**


	11. Chapter 9

**Yay! I managed to write this one-finally! You guys have been awesome with your reviews! I'm dying to know everyone's reaction to it. Happy Reading!**

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Shonda, I'm simply playing with them.**

* * *

"Torres you have to talk to her" Alex was begging to the best of his abilities. "I'm off all the important cases and all I got to do today was an appy removal"

Callie laughed. Watching Alex Karev this helpless was fun. "And what can I say that will change her mind?" She clicked her pen shut and started walking away. Alex stepped in front of her effectively blocking her way "Tell her it's not my fault." He began in a rush "In fact it's nobody's fault. We are adults. We can do what we want."

Callie placed her hands on her hips "You want to try that line of argument with Arizona? You have a notorious reputation Karev. She believes you are messing with her friend's life. I think she's been very lenient with you just because you are her favourite." Callie laughed while Alex frowned.

"What about Ginny? What does she think about it?" Callie asked as she and Alex began walking towards the pit.

"Ginny's been holed up in the OR with one case then another to avoid Arizona." He snorted. "So much for all her devil may care attitude!"

Callie chuckled at that. When she saw the first ambulance coming in, she looked at him and said "Ok Karev, you can be on my service for the meantime."

* * *

Ginny was simply looking at her phone as she twirled it in her hands. For the past 10 minutes Arizona had been "talking" to her. Even though she managed to blank out during most of the conversation Ginny still caught words like "irresponsible", "unhealthy relationship", "commitment" and "foolish". She sighed. She was seated on her desk as Arizona paced about her office. She owned an office and yet there was Arizona scolding her and making her feel like a teenager. The way Arizona's heels were clicking against the floor, they set up a rhythm that was slowly lulling her to sleep. She thought about the day. And she began wondering why Lexie had seemed a little flustered today. She had meant to ask Lexie about it, but before she could Arizona had cornered her.

There was a loud knock on the door before it was partially opened and Callie's head popped in. Ginny had never been happier to see Callie. "About time Torres" she said jumping down from her desk and walking towards the door as Arizona paused midway through her rant. "Now handle your woman" she continued still looking at Callie as Callie grinned.

"Where do you think you're going? Stop behaving childishly." Arizona glared.

"Then stop behaving like my mother" Ginny glared back as she stepped out of the room. "And when you really need a consult let me know" And with that she slammed the door behind her.

Arizona stood fuming in the middle of the room. "She's …she's so…so…argh!" Callie came over and gently wrapped Arizona in a hug. Drawing away slightly to look into Arizona's face she continued "Why don't you let me take you home and draw you a lovely bath and then you can tell me what's really bothering you. How does that sound?"

That did sound lovely to Arizona. With no Alex on her service and Ginny acting stupidly, she had had a shit day. The only lovely time was the half hour she got to spend with Sofia. She could really do with a relaxing bath. She lowered her head into Callie's chest and mumbled "Yeah that sounds lovely."

* * *

Callie checked the temperature of the water in the bath tub. It seemed right about perfect. "Lavender or rose?" she asked Arizona who was changing out of her clothes behind her.

"Whichever" she answered nonchalantly. Callie picked up the bottle of lavender bath salt and added it to the water. She turned around to look at Arizona and her breath hitched.

She could never get tired of simply watching Arizona. As she stood there naked, lost in thoughts, her blonde locks lying loose around her face, Callie desired to take her right then and there. But she dismissed those thoughts, at least temporarily. She promised her wife a warm bath to help unburden whatever thoughts were plaguing her. She smiled and held out her hand for Arizona to take. Arizona eyes finally focused on Callie and she smiled too as Callie helped her into the bathtub. First sitting and then reclining back she closed her eyes and let the warm water wash away her anxieties. Callie sat at the edge of the tub simply holding Arizona's hand and drawing small circles with her fingers on the back of Arizona's palm.

"So how was your day?" Arizona knew that Callie was trying not to push her, but she was trying to help Arizona "process".

"Shitty" Arizona replied her eyes still closed.

"Mine too in a way." Callie said lightly. "Alex kept bugging me just because he couldn't bug you. By the way you've spoilt him. He doesn't think anything is good enough as peds now." Arizona detected the mirth behind Callie's voice. And she acquiesces to let out a dry chuckle. Callie leans forward and brushes away the lock of hair that is falling over Arizona's face. "You said yourself he's a good guy" she says softly.

Arizona sighs "It's Ginny. How can he do that to her?" she said as she opened her eyes, and Callie noticed the concern clouding them.

"Ginny and he are adults, having consensual sex and both are more than perfectly ok with the arrangement. No strings attached, that's the way _they_ want it." Callie couldn't understand why Arizona would be so upset about it. It wasn't like Ginny was anything more than a friend to Arizona. And she hoped Arizona would understand that there were boundaries between friends and that she couldn't dictate how Ginny should live her life.

"I know" Arizona said with anger rising in her voice. "And that's what bothers me. Ginny, she deserves better. She…she…I just wished she would stop acting stupid and give herself a chance to be happy." She slumped back again. "I know I have no right to interfere in her life or tell her how to lead her life, but…but I feel responsible for her."

Callie looked at the pain etched clear on Arizona's face. She turned Arizona's face towards her. "Why?" she asked still holding Arizona's face.

Arizona looked into Callie eyes and then as memories flooded her mind, she turned her head unable to keep looking at Callie. She let out a shuddered breath. "It's a long story." She looked up again and continued in a strangled whisper "Join me."

Callie took a moment to register what Arizona was asking. Then rising up she smiled and got about undressing herself. In a matter of minutes she had joined Arizona in the tub and was sitting behind her and holding her around the waist. Arizona leaned back into Callie and breathed. Just feeling the rise and fall of Callie's chest gave Arizona enough strength to say what she had been holding back for days.

"She was there…she was there when they lowered Timothy's body into the ground. She stood there by me, not saying anything while everyone else was offering me a word of comfort. She just stood there holding my hand." She paused. It had been years ago, but the pain of losing her brother still felt very real.

"We had just been dating for a few weeks then. She was a new intern. And I was freely abusing my position of power as a resident. Not that she wasn't using me too. But it was all a relationship of convenience. But after…after that…I found comfort in her. I went through the daily motions like a zombie and she would silently accept me. And I used her. Oh God, I used her Calliope" Arizona turned her head slightly and buried herself in Callie's raven locks as she pressed her head against her chest. Callie soothingly ran a hand down her back. She understood how difficult it was for Arizona to not just admit her failings but also relive the sad memories.

"And…and" Arizona lifted her head and with intermittent shuddering sobs continued "She gave herself to me selflessly. She didn't push me to live a normal life like everyone else was demanding of me. She gave me time. And slowly she pieced me back together in a way that I…I realized one day that that my life was centring round her. We had got into this familiar ease. And I was completely dependent on her. That…that was when I asked myself if…if I loved her?" Callie waited with bated breaths for the answer. She knew it was selfish of her. Before meeting Arizona, she had been in love and even got married. But in her heart she knew that whatever or whoever existed before Arizona didn't matter. It hadn't been love, till she had known what it was to love and be loved by Arizona.

"And I realized that I didn't love her." Arizona's voice was full of anguish. "And that I was simply being selfish. So I told her that one day. I simply told her as she sat on the bed reading a magazine. She simply looked up at me and shrugged her shoulders. All she said was "That's not new". I mean, Callie, that's all she said and she got back to reading her magazine. Had she screamed at me or abused me for being selfish I could have dealt with it. But I knew her history. I knew what she was like underneath all that carefree attitude. I knew she cared about me." Arizona let her voice trail. Callie placed light kisses on her shoulder but didn't say a word. She didn't know what to say.

"And after that, the monster was born. The heart-breaking monster. She went back to her old ways. She slept with every living creature that crossed her path and would be attracted to her, and trust me there were many. In the hospital, she invested herself completely in trying to prove that she was better than me, better than anyone else. And yet, she never behaved any differently with me. Eating lunch with me, discussing her cases, we were friends. I tried talking to her, but she would brush me off. And out of guilt I think, I started mentoring her. I looked out for her. I made Ginny the way she is now Callie. I did this to her" Arizona lowered her head in shame. Callie simply held her tightly against herself. "No, you were honest with her." She told Arizona in a soft whisper. "Had it gone on it would have ruined you both."

Arizona sniffled and continued speaking "I dated a few girls after her. None of them seriously. Some of them were even jealous of our friendship. But Ginny never stopped me from seeing them. And then one day suddenly she decided to move right across the country, took up the fellowship in Santa Monica and came to tell me about it with a bottle of red wine in her hands. I felt…I felt…that after Timothy…after him… someone I cared about was leaving me again."

"She listened to my ranting. Told me that she had moved on, that I needed to move on too. That I had to grow up. Ginevra Fontane was sitting in my living room telling _me_ to grow up" Arizona laughed mirthlessly. "And she told me that she was used to moving around, associating and disassociating with people. That I should have gotten used to it too with my marine background. She was moving right across the country and she wanted me to not feel guilty about anything. She was living the life she wanted to live."

"I tried stopping her." Arizona sighed heavily. "She was my friend. She was more than that. She knew me, she understood me. And she…she was leaving me. I had a tough time when she left."

Callie's head was swimming in circles. There was just too much to process. But now that Arizona had decided to be honest Callie took the opportunity and asked her "Is she the reason you moved to Seattle?"

"In a way." Arizona answered after thinking over the question deeply. "Not to be close to her or anything. Just because I needed a change of scenery. Everything about Hopkins reminded me of her absence. And so I came to Seattle when the opportunity presented itself."

"And you didn't try to contact her?" Callie asked, desperately wanting to know if Callie had been someone that Arizona had only kissed because she was missing her friend.

"Umm…we did keep in touch. An odd e-mail every now and then. But they became less frequent as she immersed herself in her work and I…I met you." Callie didn't doubt the love and sincerity in her voice.

"Was she a reason behind you kissing me?" Callie asked softly, afraid that the answer would break her heart. She had asked Arizona the question earlier and Arizona had answered that she had no idea why, but she had simply followed her heart. She was asking again. Arizona drew in a deep breath and turned her head so she could look into Callie's eyes "The minute I saw you Calliope, I wanted you. I didn't know why. You simply drew me to yourself. And at Joe's that day, when I saw you sitting there, I was caught by this irresistible urge to fix you, to put everything right. I wanted to see the smile on your face. You told me to give you names and I was hypnotized by your moving lips. So I did what my heart told me to do. If you're asking me if I was thinking about Ginny as I kissed you, then the answer is no. The only thing that I was thinking about while I kissed you was that I could live in that eternal moment."

Callie leaned forward and kissed Arizona hoping that it conveyed to her all the love that she felt for her. She could never, never put to words what she felt then, what she was feeling now. All she knew was that the woman she held in her arms, the woman that was kissing her back with equal fervour right now, would be the woman she would think about as she lay dying.

When they broke apart, neither said anything. Words were useless in that moment. Arizona simply turned around and rested back onto Callie as Callie continued to hold her close to herself. It was another five minutes of comfortable silence that Callie spoke again "Ginny is here now. And we'll be there for her. We will be. She has no hard feelings for you. You have your friend back."

The use of "we" didn't go unnoticed by Arizona. She smiled to herself. She didn't know how she had been so lucky as to find Callie. And so much more luckier that Callie loved her. Loved her so much that even after knowing all the truth she was ready to forgive her, to love her.

"The water's no longer hot" Arizona said. Callie laughed lightly. "Do you want to shower while I go make dinner?" she asked removing Arizona's blonde hair to a side and kissing her shoulder. Arizona tilted her head as she answered "How about you join me in the shower?"

* * *

Later that night as Arizona slipped into bed and snuggled into Callie she thought about the day that had been. She felt infinitely lighter. She knew that even though she couldn't intrude in Ginny's life, she decided she would still look out for her. And Alex, she knew Alex was a great guy. But she didn't think he was the right guy for Ginny.

"Will you apologize to the two tomorrow?" Callie asked even as she let out a yawn. The long relaxing bath and the "exercise" later along with the pizza and wine had more than prepared her for a good night's sleep.

Arizona scoffed. "I'll have Alex back on my service. And Ginny…me and her will be just fine."

That was her plan. It was a perfect plan.

* * *

**Okay! *heaves a sigh of relief! I know everyone's been waiting to know their past. I hope this lives up to your standards. I also realize that this scene had potentials to go "M"- I was tempted to, but I didn't want to change the ratings.**

**As always I love hearing what you think! Lots of love- G**


	12. Chapter 10

**Am so glad that all of you enjoyed the last chapter. Here's the next dose. Everyone asked to know more about Ginny, so this chapter is centered around her. So all those who don't like her or are looking for only Calzona scenes you can skip this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Shonda, I'm simply playing with them.**

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

According to Arizona her plan was working just fine. Alex was back on her service and with that she was making sure that he was busy performing surgeries and in the process as far away from Ginny as possible. Ginny on the other hand was kept occupied either with Callie's famous dinners or with drinks at Joe's with Mark and Teddy. Besides Ginny was too immersed in her work- she was almost constantly in meetings with the Chief if she wasn't in surgery.

Alex was happy because he was back in Peds. Ginny and Arizona were back to being friends. No questions asked, no extra words said. Arizona simply asked her for help with her case and Ginny gave her a smile and took the case file. So as Arizona looked upon the situation- everyone was happy and everything was going simply according to plan.

Or at least according to plan till a few minutes back. Ginny and she were operating on a 13 year old with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia. And tonight Ginny was steeped in concentration. She wasn't teaching or teasing Lexie like she normally did nor conversing with Arizona more than necessary. There was almost pin drop silence in the OR.

And then suddenly all the machines started beeping up in orchestrated symphony that jarred the silence of the OR and startled the three doctors. As Lexie stepped away from the table, Ginny frantically adjusted the light beam to try and locate the source from where the blood was flowing out rapidly. In seconds she was coloured in red and still unable to locate a source.

As the pulse rate continued to drop Arizona called out in a clear voice "Paddles". In moments it was ready. Ginny removed her hands and stood back. Arizona placed it on the patient. _Thump_. One second two second. "Pulse rate still dropping." Lexie announced. Ginny got back in to locate the source while the paddles were recharged. "Got it" Ginny said in a muffled voice as she found the tiny hole in a ruptured vein that was rapidly flowing out and plugged it with cotton. But the pulse rate was yet to recover.

"Again" declared Arizona and the child was given a second shock. One second two second three second. Still nothing. It slowly kept dropping. Ginny met Arizona's eye and Arizona could see the fear of the inevitable in the others eye. Before she could begin chest compression Ginny was on it. Movie the nurse out of the way Ginny began the rhythmic compressions.

"1…2…3" She huffed and puffed but the irritating beeping noise did not stop. She looked at the screen and then repeated the procedure. All of a sudden the beeping noises stopped to give way to a continuous low sound. The nurses looked from one another and from the corner of her eye Arizona noticed Lexie gasp and step further away from the table. Only Ginny was oblivious to it as she kept on repeating the procedure. "1…2…3"

"Dr. Fontane step away" Arizona said as calmly as possible. It wasn't easy on her either but someone had to be strong and take control of the situation. Ginny didn't seem to hear her. "Dr. Fontane" at the second loud repetition of her name Ginny looked up at Arizona and blinked, but her hands were still on the child's chest. "There's nothing more to be done. I'm calling the time of death." Arizona looked down at her watch and said in a clear voice "7:46 P.M"

Ginny looked at her in disbelief "No" was all she said as she turned back to the child on the table and began chest compressions again. Arizona shared a glance with Lexie. Lexie nodded her head and stepped forward. Coming from behind Ginny she caught her hands stilling them in the process. When Ginny gave up trying to resist she pulled the older surgeon back away from the table. Almost immediately Ginny shrugged her away and took a step towards Arizona. "You didn't try enough" she said accusingly.

Arizona knew better than to defend herself and in the process enrage Ginny further. "Dr. Fontane" she continued calmly "We did all that we could. The heart didn't hold strong enough, he bled out"

"But I did…I found the source…we plugged it. He shouldn't have died" Ginny's tone changed rapidly from a challenge to a defeated plea. She gave Arizona one last withering look before she swept out of the OR. Arizona met Lexie's eyes and she saw the shock on the younger surgeon's face. Behind her she could hear the nurses whispering something. Possibly about how Fontane couldn't deal with the death of a patient. Arizona shook her head. They wouldn't understand. But that didn't mean she wasn't going to speak to Fontane about her behaviour in the OR. She had to. It was what was professionally demanded of her. But as a friend she knew she had to go offer her friend some comfort. She looked up at the observation deck and saw the animated way in which the doctors were discussing what had happened in the OR. She also caught a glimpse of Karev's retreating form as he slipped out of the room.

* * *

"Some doctors are so used to success that they can't take it when they lose a patient" April stated as she leaned against the nurses' station.

"Yeah, it's the first person she's lost so far at Seattle. Spoils her perfect record. Makes her a little more human" Meredith chirped in.

"I think it's highly unprofessional of her to burst out like that in the OR. Losing a patient or not, one should always maintain a certain professionalism in the OR" Avery joined in as he sipped his coffee.

Yang nodded her head "So much for being the great Ginevra Fontane. I knew all that hotness would fizzle out someday." She snorted and the other two laughed.

"Shut up will you?" Lexie snapped at them as she finally looked up from the file that she was signing. "You don't have to be so mean to her"

"Just because she favours you, doesn't mean you have to stand up for her, Little Grey" Yang told her with a smirk on her face.

Lexie shook her head in disbelief. These people didn't know anything about Fontane. They had never been witness to the meticulous way Fontane approached each case. How even though she shied away from talking to family members of the patients, with the patients themselves she was caring and honest. Among the doctors she may appear to be proud, confident, self-assured, so much so that they often see her as an infallible deity but in reality she was just another doctor who found it hard to resolve with the fact of losing a patient. More so because their patient had been just a child. Lexie understood what Fontane was going through. She had seen her going through the procedures over and over again the night before a major surgery, talking to the other surgeons, always going into the OR with a clear thorough plan of action. But taking one look at Yang and other she realized that they would never understand Fontane.

"She does me no favours. Makes me work like a mule if nothing else." Lexie began patiently. Then with an emphatic look at Yang she continued "Fontane is an excellent doctor but more importantly she is a good human being. And you can't see that, because she doesn't walk around showing it to the world. But she is. And I'll just chalk-up everything you said about her as your short-sightedness" with that last word she turned on her heels and walked away.

Meredith could just utter a faint "Lex" to call her back but she was already gone. She turned to look at Yang. Yang shook her head. "The girl's too far gone."

* * *

Alex was beginning to mildly panic. He had got out of the observation deck as soon as he saw what transpired in the OR but he had still to find Ginny. He looked for her in all the usual places, on second thoughts even checked out the chapel. There was only the rooftop left. He trudged his way up hoping she would be there. As he opened the door and took in her form, his heart broke a little.

She was sitting on the ledge, her knees drawn towards her chest and hands clinging her form. Her face was turned away from him and the wind was blowing her long black tresses. Alex was reminded of one of those anime characters he had seen in a comic book once. She was still in her scrubs. She didn't realize his presence till he came and stood close to her. He didn't say anything, simply put his arms around her and watched the Seattle skyline along with her.

It was minutes before she spoke "He didn't deserve to die" she said softly as she pressed her head into Alex's chest.

"No one deserves to die" he stated simply as he ran a soothing hand down her back.

"But he was just a child" she complains to him as if it was in his power to change any of it.

Alex tilts her head upwards. "You and Robbins did everything you could. Sometimes you just have to accept it."

"And who decides all of it? Don't you dare answer God!" she looked up at him with angry sad eyes. Alex didn't say anything. She continued "If it's God then God's a fool. He has no idea whom to take away and who he should let live. I've sinned Alex" she clutched the front of his scrubs in desperation "sins that assure me a place in hell and yet I live and an innocent kid dies. How does God just sit and watch all of it? Where is the justice in it?" She lowered her head into his chest and cried. Alex held her. Usually he ran away from all such emotional dramas. But when it came to Ginny he couldn't. She was…a friend. However they may have started their relationship, he now viewed her as a friend. And he didn't want to run away from her. He wanted to be there for her.

As her sobbing subsided he spoke "Because you save lives. You have a role to play. And you do it very well." She looked up to meet his eye. He didn't look away but continued earnestly "I've seen how dedicated you are to medicine. How much you care about your patients. How invested you are in your surgeries." He wiped away her tears and cupped her face in his hands. "You remember that one time when you had an orgasmed screaming stem cell?"

She laughed inspite of her tears "Yeah. Not my best moment" She lowered her eyes. Alex laughed too and agreed "Mine neither."

"You have no reason to blame yourself. We are just doctors. We are humans. We try saving patients but we aren't always successful. And one almost never gets used to losing patients. So you have every right to be sad about it but no reason to blame yourself or get mad at Robbins. She lost a patient too, you know"

She doesn't say anything but keeps holding on to him. "Shouldn't I as a senior doctor be telling you that?" She looked up finally and said with a small smile on her face. Alex chuckled "I'm a less skilled doctor, lost more patients than you. More experienced that way." She wiped away her tears and jumped down the ledge "Oh wow, look who's trying to be modest?" He just smiled. "Shall I take you home?" he asks nervously, not knowing whether she wants to be alone or if she wants him there. She smiles back at him and takes his hand in hers "Yes please."

* * *

"Can't this be deferred till tomorrow Arizona? Cut her some slack. It's not easy losing a patient." Callie told her wife as she followed her towards the attending's locker room.

"I lost a patient too Callie" Arizona whips her head around to look at her wife but doesn't slower her pace.

"Yes but you are used to compartmentalizing better." She finally caught up with Arizona and catching her wrist she turned Arizona towards herself. Placing both hands on Arizona's shoulders Callie bent her head a little and spoke looking directly into Arizona's eyes "You are a paediatric surgeon. I know that it's difficult for you to lose a patient but it's even more difficult for someone who isn't used to it. Like us doctors. Normal deaths affect us, but when it's a child it become so much harder. So I'm not asking you to not scold her for unprofessionalism. All I'm asking you to do is give her time." Callie's brown eyes searched Arizona's blue ones. Arizona's shoulder sagged.

"She's probably with Alex. And you know an upset Ginny is a reckless Ginny, she might go do something stupid." Arizona finally stated her true fears.

"Like look for comfort sex?' Callie asked catching on to the point.

"Yeah. With Karev. Which undoes all our hard work over the past week" she looks frustrated.

Callie had to laugh at that "Stop being ridiculous Arizona. She is an adult. If she chose Karev, I'd call her sensible. Now if she were going to join an orgy then I would have been worried. Can you please step out of their relationship?"

"That's it. They don't have a relationship Callie" Arizona shrugged off Callie's hands and headed towards the locker room. Callie sighed dramatically before following her.

But as soon as the locker room came into view they saw Alex Karev standing in front of it with his hands in his pockets. He looked up when he saw Arizona's approaching form.

"What are you doing here Karev?" she bellowed.

"Waiting for Ginny" He said a little nervously.

"Go. Now. We've got her" Arizona began moving past him into the room.

"No" Alex's definite answer stopped Arizona in her tracks. He stepped in between Arizona and the door. "I'm taking her home. She's tired." When Arizona tried to speak again he raised a hand and cut her off "I know. I know what she did in the OR today was unprofessional and you can berate her about it in the morning. But right now, she's down. She's blaming herself for the loss of the child. What she needs now is food and sleep. So I'm taking her home." He looked up to spot Callie smiling at him. "And you, you're gonna go home and spend time with your wife and kid. Get some rest. Blow off steam. And tomorrow you can do what you want." He looked her straight in the eye. She looked back at him and blinked in surprised and after a moment's thought took two steps back.

Before she could say anything the door opened and Ginny stepped out carrying her bag in her hands. She looked from Arizona to Callie then finally turned her head towards Alex "Shall we go?" Alex nodded and began walking towards the elevator. Ginny followed him two steps before turning back and speaking to Arizona "I'm sorry"

It wasn't just a sorry for her behaviour or sorry for the way she had accused her friend in the OR. It was also a sorry because she recognized the fact that Arizona too had lost a patient. Arizona accepted it with a nod of her head. "Good night Torres" she waved to Callie before turning and catching up with Alex. As she linked her arms with his and headed towards the elevator Callie came and wrapped Arizona in her arms.

"She's gonna be just fine."

Arizona's plans had gone haywire. But she had a feeling that Ginny would be ok after all.

* * *

**So those of you who did read it, I hope You liked it :) And Ginny becomes a little clearer. But there's lots more to come about her.**

**As always I love to hear what you think about it. And you know the cardinal rule- More reviews= Faster Updates! :)**

**Lots of love- G :)**


	13. Chapter 11

**Thank you everyone who read, reviewed, added to alerts- simply thank you for sticking with the story. You guys are awesome! :)**

**Here's the next chapter- The couples' day, not according to plan!**

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Shonda, I'm simply playing with them.**

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

"Calliope" Arizona moaned as Callie dropped small kisses on her exposed shoulder blade. "Stop" she begged. Callie simply smirked and continued to slowly slip the shirt down Arizona's shoulder. "I'm…Oh God" she breathed out as Callie kissed a particularly sensitive spot on the nape of her neck. "Late" was all she managed as Callie turned her around and kissing her fully on her lips began pushing her back towards their bed.

"You have more than half an hour" Callie smiled seductively as she began unbuttoning Arizona's jeans. "That's a lot of time" she finished as she roughly pushed her wife back and almost animal like pounced on her.

* * *

"Have you seen my socks?" Alex asked as he walked into the living room, jeans still unbuttoned, hair still uncombed.

Ginny continued to pour out two cups of coffee as she spoke "There must be a fresh pair in the lower drawer."

"Nope. I checked." Replied Alex as he finally slipped the tee over his head.

"50 bucks say I'd find them there" Ginny smiled as she bit into her toast.

Alex pondered over that for a second "I'll go check again."

Ginny laughed at his retreating form.

20 minutes later Alex was finishing his breakfast, wearing a grey pair of socks that he had found in the said lower drawer. Ginny came out of the bedroom dressed and ready to go. "Are you done?" she asked as she picked up her purse and cell phone. Alex wiped his face with the back of his hands and flopped out of the chair "Yeah" he smiled at her as he picked up his jacket and the keys to the apartment and followed Ginny out of the door.

* * *

"We are so late, Calliope! This is all your mistake" Arizona complained as Callie stood locking the door to their apartment.

Callie snorted "I wanted a quickie. You were the one who insisted on round two and three."

Arizona simply pouted "Still your mistake"

"Yeah? How's that?" Callie asked as she linked her arm with her wife's and the two walked towards the elevator.

"You are addictive. And I never get enough of you" Arizona answered with an innocent look on her face but the twinkle in her eyes was unmistakable.

Callie laughed and slapped Arizona's bum lightly. Before she could reply the elevator door dinged open to reveal Ginny and Alex standing inside laughing at something.

"Hey guys" Callie greeted warmly as the two stepped into the elevator. For the past one month Arizona had been more or less tolerant of Alex's "non-relationship" (as she liked calling it) with Ginny.

"Morning" she smiled at Ginny before simply looking at Alex and stiffly adding "Karev"

Karev nodded smartly but took a step apart from Ginny. Ginny had a bemused look on her face. She smiled at Arizona then Callie before stepping closer to Alex and linking her arm with his "Anything exciting planned for today?" she asked chirpily.

The move didn't go unnoticed by Arizona but she refrained from any comment and let Callie guide their conversation as the two couples rode down the elevator.

* * *

"Just ask whatever it is Lexie" Ginny sighed in frustration. "Where's your concentration today? Whatever it is that's on your mind, just ask and get over with it"

Lexie looked a little uneasy but then took the opportunity and blurted out "Is Mark ok with it?"

Ginny stopped writing midway to look up at Lexie "Ok with what?" she asked, the confusion apparent in her voice.

"You and Alex" Lexie said her eyes looking everywhere except directly at Ginny.

"Yeah" Ginny said slowly, "Why wouldn't he be?" She tried racking her head. Mark had been among the first ones to find out about her and Alex and he hadn't really said anything about it to her except for making vulgar jokes about their sex habits.

"No it's just…I thought since you and Mark…I guess there wasn't really anything then" Lexie said the last part with relief. The use of "Mark" instead of "Dr. Sloan" didn't go unnoticed by Ginny.

"Me and Mark what? Lexie I've told you time and again, either talk in full sentences or don't talk at all" she sat back and stared at Lexie waiting for an explanation. Lexie swallowed visibly before starting to speak "I thought…Everyone thought…that you two were sleeping. So now that we know that you're with Alex, I just wanted to know if Mark is ok with that and not hurt by it all."

Ginny blinked rapidly while she processed all that Lexie just told her. "Two things Lexie" she said finally as she leaned forward on her chair. "One, in my personal life who ever I screw should never be a cause of distraction for you, ever again." There was almost a threatening finality in those words. "Sorry" Lexie said sheepishly. "And two" Ginny continued, this time with mirth evident in her voice "Why are you so concerned with what Mark feels?"

Lexie blushed a little at that. "I…it's just that Mark and I…we have a history" she let out a sad sigh at the end of it.

Suddenly it struck Ginny. Mark's sudden momentarily silence when Lexie walked into the room or how he always managed to ask her about Lexie's progress in oncology. How at her house-warming party, she had caught him staring at Lexie and when she had teased him about it he had brushed it aside with unusual haste. Also how Lexie always acted distracted when she had to come fetch her for a surgery and Ginny was with Mark.

And even though it was all becoming clear to her she felt inexplicably angry. "Whatever history you have with Mark I don't want it interrupting with your work" she snapped and Lexie looked down at her hands. "Sorry' she mumbled again.

"Marks will come and go. Do you understand Lexie? Lexie?" Finally Lexie looked up. "If you want to be eligible for a fellowship in surgical oncology then I'd advise you concentrate on what's ahead of you and not dwell on your pasts. Have I made myself clear?" Lexie nodded once then twice rapidly. "Now go, get the OR ready please."

* * *

"Hey what are you two doing down here?" Callie asked as she walked up to her two favourite people in the world. As she reached close to them Sofia leaned out of her momma's arms and Callie deftly picked her up. "Sofi baby" she kissed her daughter repeatedly till the little one began chuckling and kicking about with her little feat. "Mami missed you" she placed a sound kiss on the top of her head and held her close to her before looking at Arizona and whispering "And you too."

Arizona smiled as leaned forward to place a chaste kiss on her wife's lips before she placed both hands on her Callie's hips and spoke lovingly "I'm done for the day. So we were heading back home. Will you be joining us soon?"

Callie had to remove Sofia's hands from her mouth before she could speak "Yeah just a few reports to be written up. I'll be home in an hour or so, provided nothing unexpected crops up." Sofia still didn't want to give up her search of the insides of Callie's mouth.

"Ok…I'll make some dinner, feed Sofia, maybe you can come back in time to put her into bed and then…" she leaned closer to her wife's ears and whispered "we could complete what we started in the morning"

Callie could feel her body temperature rising. She bit back a smile "But I thought we did complete it" she said feigning innocence. That earned her a pinch on her arm from Arizona as she huffed and took Sofia back from Callie. "Now if that's all you want then fine" she replied with a straight face "I thought that was just the trailer and that we would have the full show at night but if you…" Callie shut her up with a kiss "We can even have whatever you want." Arizona smirked as Sofia waved her pudgy hands at Callie.

* * *

"Do you have a medical dictionary around?" Alex asked from the other room. Ginny swallowed her wine before hollering back "The book shelf. Upper deck"

She put her glass down on the counter as she added a little more sauce over the grilled meat ribs. She was thinking about Lexie. To be honest she was worrying about her. Mark was a good guy but he was completely wrong for Lexie. Lexie wouldn't be able to handle the drama that came packaged with Mark, and if she wanted the fellowship she would have to work sans the drama. She took another long sip from her glass.

"What the hell is this?" Alex came into view holding two worn out books in his hand.

"Didn't you find the dictionary?" Ginny asked as she checked the meat to see if they were cooked before deciding that they were and taking them off the grill.

"Yeah, but what's this? Dante whatever's _Inferno_ in Italian?" he asked incredulously.

Ginny laughed "Have you forgotten my Italian ancestry?" She arranged the food onto two plates.

Alex gave her a 'no-shit look' before shaking the book in his other hand "This is Rilke's poetry in German." He flipped open the book and read the inscription inside "To Ginevra on her 14th birthday, from Mother" He scrunched up his face. "You got a book of poems for your 14th birthday?"

Ginny shrugged her shoulders as she picked up the plates and walked past him into the living room. "Some people got dresses and toys on their birthday, my parents always gave me books on mine" she said as she crossed him.

She stopped at the sight of her living room. The carpeted floor was covered with books that Alex had been studying from. Alex came up behind her "I'll clean that up, I promise" He sat down on the floor and shifted the piles of papers to one side. Ginny handed him the plates before going over to the cabinet in the hall and picking out a bottle of wine and two fresh glasses. Finally she sat down in the floor beside him, her back resting on the couch, the plates of food between them.

"So how many languages do you know?" Alex asked picking up his fork.

"Ummm…7. Picked them up as I travelled around the globe" she answered taking a bite of her food.

"Wow" was all that Alex managed. "Your parents were like some super rich folks who holidayed round the world?"

She shook her head. "Government jobs. Both were at high-profile posts, so even though most times I was with my mother wherever she was posted, sometimes I used to be with Dad. Shorter stays with him, but they used to be more eventful" she said nostalgia lacing her voice.

"I bet they were fun" Alex chimed as he chewed on his food.

Ginny gave a short laugh. "Not always" she admitted. "Sucked to be the new kid in class everywhere. I hardly had any friends while growing up. And it was not always easy picking up languages. Once my mother was posted in Jordan and this group of guys passing by my car called me "shermoota" and I thought they were calling me beautiful, so I smiled. Only later did I find out I'd been called a whore" She shook her head ruefully before taking another bite of her food.

"Yeah, I believe you could be the only woman who assumes that there's only one thing that a guy could possible call her" he teased her as he swished his fork in front of her. Ginny chuckled at that. "Yeah, but I learned a lot. And it wasn't always a pleasant way of learning things" she conceded, a distant look in her eyes. Alex looked at her sideways and began speaking even without realizing he had.

"I moved around a lot too" he said. "Yeah?" she asked him enthusiastically. "17 foster homes" he replied before he put in another forkful of meat.

Ginny was shocked for a moment before she found her voice again "Was any of it fun?" she asked softly, not looking at Alex but looking straight ahead.

"Rarely. I ran away most of the times" even as Alex answered her, he realized he was telling her things that he had never told anyone before, at least not willingly. His friends knew about it, but it had taken them ages to earn his trust and in due course they had learned bits and pieces about him. And here he was sitting and sharing stories with a woman he didn't even know 3 months back.

He turned to look at her, she looked a little unsure. He placed a hand on her thigh and said "I made up for it by having fun after I grew up" She looked up at him with a smile and he winked at her.

* * *

"Umm…this is good" Callie commented as she slipped her red wine and looked at Arizona sitting snuggled against her, her own white wine in her hands. "We should have befriended Ginny sooner"

Arizona giggled. "Whatever her faults, the woman's got excellent taste in wine and books. And you have to listen to her read poetry to you. Callie, don't get angry but it's heavenly!"

Callie laughed and wrapped her arms more tightly around her wife. She leaned down and whispered seductively in her ears "I bet I could take you to heaven and back, twice, and have you begging for more, before she finishes a bloody poem"

Arizona felt a delightful shiver run down her spine. She turned her body towards Callie and placing a hand on her thigh she whispered back "I've been begging for it all day, internally."

Some days, as unplanned as they are, they turn out to be just awesome!

* * *

**I gave you the chapter, now I need my dose of reviews to keep going! :)**

**So, Calzona sexy time (check), Alex-Ginny almost domestic (check), Ginny's concern for Lexie (uhm?) Would you like more of that?**

**Much love- G :)**


	14. Chapter 12

**And here's the next chapter. I'm glad everyone liked the previous one. I hope this one manages to keep your excitement levels high.**

**A small request- just suspend your knowledge of the GA timeline, coz I've tweaked with it and will be tweaking with it for effective drama in the story. Thank You and Happy Reading!**

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Shonda, I'm simply playing with them.**

* * *

"Just remember to give her a lot of fluids and if it starts getting worse…"

"Arizona" Callie cut her off. "I know what to do." She was balancing an irritated baby on her hip and a bowl of baby food in her hand.

Arizona looked from her baby to her wife "Just…can't I stay and look after you guys? Why do I need to go to work today?" she was whining almost like Sofia.

Callie found her so adorable at the moment that she was tempted to cave in and let her wife pamper her. But then sense prevailed and she shook her head "Coz we need at least one person who's healthy and standing on their feet. I think I'm almost getting it, the longer you stay away from home, the longer the flu stays away from you." Arizona pouted. "Ok. But call me, if anything gets worse please?" she ran a hand through Sofia's raven hair. She instinctively leant forward to kiss her girls goodbye but Callie pulled back. Arizona momentarily frowned but she got the logic behind Callie's reasons.

She sighed and picked up her purse and keys "I'll come home early and make some hot soup for you guys, ok?" Callie smiled warmly "Awesome." She said holding and waving Sofia's hand at Arizona. Arizona smiled back. "And now I'll just go meet Alex before he heads off to the airport"

"Has he permanently shifted base here?" Callie asked amusedly. Arizona simply rolled her eyes "I think he's just too lazy to head back to his trailer"

"Or maybe it's a conscious decision. He likes Ginny" Callie was now openly grinning. Arizona just snorted "Their non-relationship is just convenient for them both."

"How long are you gonna keep referring to it as a non-relationship?" Callie countered as Arizona stepped out of the door. "The two have been together for more than 3 months now. They aren't seeing anyone else. We know how highly unusual it is for both of them. And seeing them together, anyone can tell they are in love" Callie's voice was full of excitement like a school girl's taking about her newest crush.

"So long as they don't admit it to themselves and to each other, I'm gonna keep calling it that" Arizona nodded her head self-righteously and then waving at her favourite girls she bounded up the stairs.

* * *

"Aargh…I hate ties" Alex complained as Ginny was adjusting his tie for him.

"You look…" she stood back with her hands on her hips and then checked him out from top to toe. Then looking back up she continued with a smile "dashing! I can see how Izzie could have said yes to you at the altar."

Alex smiled. He held Ginny by both arms and asked in an earnest voice "You think I can impress them? You think I'm good?"

Ginny gave him a warm smile before holding his face in her hands. Leaning forward a bit and looking directly into his eyes she spoke clearly "You are a talented surgeon and you've got successful results to prove it. Today you look like you could sweep any girl off her feet, but just looking at your CV, those people are gonna be impressed. Just…" she paused and added softly "remember no one's judging you. You don't have to fight the world and prove them anything. Stay calm and be yourself."

Alex closed his eyes and let Ginny's voice seep in. He felt his confidence rise a little. He opened his eyes only to meet her dark green orbs staring back at him. Almost instinctively he leant forward and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. "Thank you" he whispered. She patted him on his shoulder and stepped back as he picked up his travel bag and headed out of the door.

Just then Arizona came into view. "Hey, all ready Karev? You clean up pretty well." She came up and stood by them. "Have you taken everything you need?"

"Yeah. I think so" Alex said even as he mentally ticked off the items he would require. He checked his watch. "I guess I should leave or I'll miss the flight. Robbins" he held out his hand towards Arizona. Arizona gave him a bemused look before moving forward and hugging him "Make me proud Karev" she told him as she released him from her embrace.

Alex smiled then turning to Ginny he added "I'll call you." Ginny squeezed his shoulder. As he got into the elevator and till the elevator doors closed the two women had identical smiles on their face.

But as soon as the elevator doors closed Ginny turned to Arizona "You are sending him to Santa Fe? And I saw what the possible next are. Oak Ridge and Farmington? Seriously Arizona, how long are you gonna keep him away from Yale and Columbia. You know better than me that he deserves it."

Arizona looked up innocently "I'm working on it." Ginny gave her a "you-can't-fool-me" look. "Oh please, don't go about feeding him ideas. I'm doing what's best for him." Arizona gave her a dimpled smile. Ginny chuckled and shook her head lightly.

* * *

Today had been breezy compared to the other days and after a long time the day had gone according to plan for Arizona. She had only two simple surgeries today, she managed to clear up her backlog of paper work and now she was heading home to her wife and daughter while the night was still young. She had awesome plans to pamper her girls. As she switched off her computer and slid back the chair, there was a loud knocking on the door. Even before she could answer, Ginny's head popped in.

"Hey" Arizona began warmly but shut up seeing the look on Ginny's face as she closed the door behind her and stepped into the office. "Kill me" came out in a strangled voice.

Arizona blinked in confusion and getting up she rapidly made her way to Ginny. "Tell me what happened?" she said, concern lacing her voice.

Ginny drew in a deep breath and whispered "I almost kissed Lexie Grey."

* * *

"Lexie isn't even gay!" is the first thing that fell from Callie's mouth as she heard it from Arizona's mouth. Then she met Arizona's raised eyebrow and instantly realized her mistake "Or she wasn't till now." Her own history was ample proof of the fluidity of women's sexuality. She looked at the slumped figure sitting on the other end of the couch.

"I thought you had finally grown up" Arizona scolded Ginny as she paced about from one end to the other end of their living room.

Ginny just continued to look down at her hands. Callie met Arizona's eyes and silently pleaded her to go easy on Ginny. Moving a little further on the couch, she placed a hand on Ginny's left shoulder and said softly "Tell us, in details, what exactly happened."

Ginny looked up at Callie "I don't know what happened. One minute we were discussing the case and in the next I was pressing her up against the wall, my hands on her either side and I was leaning forward"

"As always you were not using your head!" Arizona glared at her as she came and sat on the coffee table in front of Ginny. "Just say it."

Ginny took in a deep breath. "She was talking…something about the case and then she suddenly started talking about Mark and Sofia. How she could see herself, fitting into this domestic arrangement" she flailed her hands between Callie and Arizona. "How research would then become difficult. And she was talking and talking, and all I wanted to tell her was that she was being stupid but then all I remember was moving without realizing that I was moving. In one fluid movement I had her against the wall, my hands on either side of her face and my own face inches away from hers." Ginny swallowed hard and sat back.

"And how did Lexie react?" Callie asked.

"You know she could press harassment charges against you right?" Arizona said, wildly removing her hair from her face.

"She…she didn't push me away." Ginny began softly. "In fact…in fact her eyes were closed, almost as if she was anticipating me to kiss her" Ginny's head was spinning.

There was a shocked expression on Arizona's face that was matched by the look on Callie's face. "Does she…do you guys…is there anything more than a teacher-student relationship between you two? I mean, is there even a small part of you that desires her?" Callie didn't know how else to put it.

As terrible as Ginny was feeling she laughed a bit at Callie's wordings "Noo" she said emphatically. "I care about her. I want her to do well, but I don't love her. Conceded she is attractive but I don't see her in that light, I've never seen her in that light. I…I was…"

"You were trying to manipulate her feelings" Arizona finished the sentence for her. "You thought that if she was mildly attracted to you or even confused about you, you could keep her away from Mark. Isn't that it?" There was a pained expression on Arizona's face.

Ginny lowered her eyes under Arizona's cutting gaze. "I wanted her to stay on in oncology. I wanted to pass on to her, teach her everything I knew. And here she was throwing it all away!" Ginny's voice was small yet angry. She looked so vulnerable to Callie that she ran a hand down Ginny's back.

"But you didn't kiss her, right?" Callie spoke softly. "You pulled back."

"I realized that what I was doing to Lexie was wrong." Ginny looked back up. "That I was spoiling our relationship of mentor-mentee. But I think I was too late, I think I've spoiled it already."

Callie was stopped from saying whatever she was gonna say, by the soft wails coming out of the baby monitor. She met Arizona's eyes and got up to check on Sofia.

As soon as Callie left Arizona looked away from Ginny and spoke softly "This is all my mistake. I'm the one who made you like this. I'm the one…"

"Shut up Arizona" Ginny's loud reproach shut her up instantly. "I've told you a million times before who I am is not because of you or what you did to me. Hell, what did you do to me? You were there, you needed me. For once, someone needed me. Someone wanted me to be with them. And that someone had not been paid to be with me or was not my parents who made it clear that while they were with me, they had more important places to be. So Zona as much as you believe you used me, trust me I used you more. So please" she took Arizona's hands in her own. "Zona look up" she waited for Arizona to meet her eyes "Stop blaming yourself. And give me some credit for being who I am. Even if I'm stupid, I am what my experiences have made me."

Arizona weighed Ginny's words carefully. This is the first time they had discussed the matter, and after ages she felt a weight lifting from her chest. She smiled a watery smile before enveloping her friend in a hug. Callie was standing by the doorway watching the scene unfold and she smiled lovingly at the two. Ginny was the one who opened her eyes first and spotted her. She released herself from Arizona's embrace. "I assure you I wasn't trying to steal your wife" she said settling back in the couch.

Callie laughed lightly as she came and sat down on her previous position on the couch. "You don't have to apologize to me for taking comfort from your friend when you need it. And I remember our deal" she winked lightly at Ginny, who laughed and shook her head "Yeah. Our deal."

"One day you guys will have to tell me your deal" Arizona chimed in as she wiped her tears with the back of her hands. "But for now, what do we do? How are we gonna deal with this situation?" She looked at Callie hoping her brilliant brain would come up with some solution.

Callie wiped her nose with her handkerchief. "For starters, you could go talk to Lexie and tell her honestly what you feel about her and the situation" She levelled her eyes upon Ginny who had already begun to shake her head "I'm so embarrassed. I don't think I can face Lexie ever again."

"But that's not gonna help anyone. You need to clear the air. Apologize to her. Lexie is a great person. She'll understand. She might be hurt, but she loves oncology, she admires you, she will eventually forgive you and come back ok." She saw Ginny accepting her words. "And besides, the girl is madly in love with Mark. She will hopefully realize that and then there will be no problem. Lexie and Mark. You and Alex. Happy ending!"

The last part seemed to amp up Ginny's anxiety again. "Oh no, Mark. Please, please don't tell Mark." She begged Callie and Arizona. "I don't want him bashing me up. This is already awkward without Mark believing I was making a move on his girl. Please"

Callie laughed and Arizona soon joined her. "But he will find out eventually. And you better be prepared for it then" Callie told her. "Although Mark would never hit a woman" continued Arizona "I can't vouch for how he will react, Lexie is _the_ only one for him" Arizona smiled. "How is Alex gonna react to it?" she added softly and looked at Callie.

"Alex is…oh God! Alex is gonna tease the hell out of me. And that reminds me I haven't replied to his texts all evening." She immediately began rummaging in her jacket pocket and fished out her mobile. "7 new texts from him. Aargh…" With that Ginny just lay down on the couch with her head in Callie's lap, her legs rolled up close to her chest. Callie ran a hand through her hair, it felt to her almost natural like she did for Sofia. "It's gonna be alright" she whispered to Ginny even as she shook her head at her cluelessness regarding Alex.

Just then there was commotion in the hallway outside. Arizona rose to go check out what it was. Without opening the door first she listened then she looked out through the peephole. What she saw stunned her. As the commotion subsided she turned and walked back towards Callie and Ginny.

"What was it?" Callie asked.

"Mark" was all that Arizona could manage at first. "With some girl?" Callie asked with a knowing smirk. Arizona bobbed her head up and down. "Not just any girl. It was Lexie."

At the mention of Lexie's name Ginny's head popped up. Arizona continued as if in a daze "Mark and Lexie almost ripping each other's clothes off as they entered his apartment." With the last words she flopped down on the couch on the other side of Callie.

She had almost come to accept that nothing in life ever went according to plan!

* * *

**So how was that? A lot of you wanted to know about Ginny and Lexie, I hope this chapter satisfies your curiosity.**

**As always tell me, what you think about the chapter. Your reviews inspire me to write even when I find my Term-Paper killing me.**

**Lots of love- G :)**


	15. Chapter 13

**Back to back updates! Yay! :)**

**But before that-**

**Dear Anonymous Reviewer, I'm sorry for having forced you to read my fics. I shall promptly remove the dagger that is dangling above your neck so that you are free to not read my fics. If you want elaborate descriptions of Calzona sexy times, I suggest you read fics that are rated M. Mine clearly says T and suggestive sexy times is all that you will get here. Thank you for having caught the grammatical mistakes with your hawk-eyes, why don't you beta my fics for me? I would really appreciate it. As for me "begging for reviews", there my friend you are wrong. I love the reader's participation in my fics. It may not be understandable to everyone, but this fic has undergone a lot of transformation because of what everyone wanted to read, and wanted to know more about. I write for an audience, I'm a typical performer.**

**As for everyone else, thank you for letting me rant and an even bigger thank you for egging me on to write. You guys are awesome. Happy Reading!**

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Shonda, I'm simply playing with them.**

* * *

"What exactly is the Torres method?" Arizona asked as she sipped her morning coffee watching her wife pull off her running shoes.

"It's a fool proof method of passing the boards" Callie grinned proudly as she made her way over to Arizona and placed a light kiss on her cheek before proceeding to pour out some coffee for herself.

"Aargh…Callie, you are sweaty" Arizona complained. "And there is no fool proof method. Not for anything" she continued watching her wife gulp down her coffee.

"There is" Callie said nodding her head and then moving her mouth closer to Arizona's ears she added in a conspiratorial tone "It's called the Torres method!" she clapped her hands and sat back in her chair to continue to drink her coffee.

Arizona frowned. "Then tell me what it is." But she saw the smug look on her wife's face and knew that she was never gonna learn the secret. So she placed her own empty cup in the basin and walked up to Callie. She stood right between Callie's legs and ran her forefinger down Callie's front. "You won't tell me your secret?" she asked with a pout.

Callie put her head back and laughed. "A minute back you found me sweaty and now…" "I find you sexy" Arizona said in a low grumble that instantly made Callie's heart skip a beat. It was a wonder how the woman managed to do that to her still, after all these years of being together.

"Well then" Callie said taking hold of Arizona's hands and holding it at a safe distance away from her own body she continued in a whisper "I suggest you join me in the shower and I'll show you the secret Torres method."

* * *

"Fontane"

Ginny turned at the sound of Mark's booming voice. She had managed to avoid him for close to a week now, but here he was marching towards her with intent. She looked around the busy hospital lobby and prayed that Mark would not create a scene in front of everyone.

"You've been avoiding me" he stated as he came and stood right in front of her. A little frown on his face, his hands on his hips- yet again, Ginny was reminded he looked like Superman. Now she only wished he didn't hit like one. "A ummm…I that" Ginny began nervously but shut up when she saw a huge smile form on Mark's face.

Before Mark could begin to say anything, his pager began beeping. He checked it and muttered something incorrigible before looking back up at Ginny. "Shoot, I need to go. But I…I just needed to…" he stopped not knowing how to say it. So he simply took a step forward and enveloped Ginny in a big bear hug. "Thank You Fontane" he said as he released a shocked Ginny. "I owe you. I don't know what you told Lexie, but it sure seemed to have worked. She wants to give "us" a try. And…" Ginny was sure she had never seen Mark beaming like this before. "You are the one responsible for it. I'll buy you drinks or…or whatever you want. Like I said, I owe you one" with that final word he bumped his fist against her shoulder and walked off. Ginny stood rooted to her spot having no idea about what just happened.

* * *

Lexie had had enough. She stormed into the examination room of the Oncology department only to find a squabbling Ginny and Alex.

"AAhhh finally" Alex said as he spotted Lexie. "I'm free now. I can go back to my peds cases. And you can have your trusted minion back. And all three of us will be happy." He slammed the file he was holding against the table. "Alex" Ginny warned him as she turned around from the X-ray she was examining. Alex shook his head and moved closer to Ginny so that his next words were heard only by her.

"Stop being an idiot. How long are you gonna avoid her? She's giving you a chance to make matters right. Take it." He pressed the file into Ginny's hands and turned on his heels. As he passed Lexie he whispered to her "Don't let her off easily ok?" and winked. Lexie smiled at his retreating form and waited for the door to close behind them before looking back at Fontane.

"How long am I gonna be off the cases?" she asked a little angrily. She knew the reason why Fontane was avoiding her, but that didn't mean she could screw with her professional life.

"I'm sorry" were the first words Fontane had spoken to her in a week. And as Lexie looked at the older surgeon she noticed the obvious discomfort and the look of shame on her face. She wanted to say something but Ginny took a deep breath and continued to talk "What I did that day was wrong. I was trying to manipulate your feelings and that is unethical. I'm deeply apologetic" she finally looked up to meet Lexie's eyes. "That kiss didn't mean anything."

"You didn't kiss me, you stopped" Lexie corrected her softly.

"Yes" Ginny nodded her head. "Because I realized that I genuinely care about you. But only as a mentor. Nothing more. What I did was stupid, I wasn't thinking clearly and I hope that you will forgive me for it."

Lexie regarded the attending for a moment before speaking "I came to thank you." As the words left her mouth she noticed the look of surprise on Ginny's face. "You made me realize that I still had feeling for Mark. When you know…you…I was pressed against the wall…and…" this conversation was way more awkward than Lexie had imagined it in her head. "When I almost kissed you" Ginny supplied a little uneasily. "Yeah, then...the only thing I could think about was Mark." Lexie finished with a smile. "When my eyes were closed I wanted to feel Mark's lips against mine- that is what I realized in that moment. And when you had left, I went straight to Mark to tell him that."

"You told Mark what I did, or almost did?" Ginny squeaked.

"Well no, not that part. I told him I had had an epiphany after my conversation with you. And now, I think we are in a position to talk about "us", I want to give it a chance. There is still a long way to go but I'm positive we can make it work." Lexie walked slowly up to Fontane and stood next to her facing the illuminated scans of a patient. "So I want us to stop being awkward around each other and going back to how we were. You teaching me. I miss that. Plus" she chanced a sideways glance at Ginny, "now I know how much you value me and want me in the department, so I see a lot of exciting stuff coming up for me" she added with a grin.

Ginny scoffed at that but she was happy to have Lexie back and dying for things to go back to normal. "Here" she said handing Lexie the file she was holding. "Since you're back in my service, I'm not going to allow you to waste my time. Islet cell tumour in a 34 year old male. Prepare yourself. I'm meeting Bailey in the afternoon to discuss it. So off you go" Ginny smiled at her and Lexie happily walked towards the door before turning and asking "I heard there's a new doctor joining the department"

"Oh yes" Ginny looked down at her watch "Thanks for reminding me. An old buddy, ex-army doc, he's brilliant. The best diagnostician I've seen in my life" Lexie took it all in. If Fontane was this excited about someone, then they definitely had to be good. As she nodded her head again and headed out of the door Ginny called her again. "Uh…the department missed you too" Fontane added before she went back to perusing the scans. Lexie smiled. That was the only acknowledgement she was gonna get from Fontane, but it meant a lot.

* * *

"Hey guys" Ginny said as she walked up to the table where her friends and colleagues sat eating. She was followed by a tall, bespectacled man in his mid-forties wearing a dark navy blue blazer over a plain white shirt teemed with smartly tailored pants. He stood smiling shyly as Ginny introduced him to the others. "This is Dr. Nathan Cahill, the newest edition to the Oncology department and an old buddy of mine." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "You've met Arizona before" Ginny continued at which point Dr. Cahill leaned forward and shook Arizona's hand "Dr. Robbins, pleasure to meet you again." "Looking forward to working with you Dr. Cahill" Arizona smiled warmly. "And as to the rest, why don't you sit down and find out for yourself" she pulled out the chair closest to Teddy and offered it to Cahill. He smiled and ducked his head a little. Wiping his forehead with a handkerchief, he sat down looking nervously around the table.

As Ginny settled into her chair next to Arizona Mark leaned forward and introduced himself to Cahill. "Mark Sloan, Head of Plastics. Where were you working previously?" Cahill shook his hands and spoke in his deep voice "Umm…Bangladesh" The answer seemed to rouse everyone's interest at the table. "I worked for a non-profit organization before deciding I wanted to come back home and when Ginny asked me to join her I couldn't say no" He looked over at Ginny and gave her an honest smile.

"I had to literally beg Nate to come" Ginny grinned. "Told him I desperately needed an experienced hand in the department and he couldn't resist playing a hero as always. Am I right Major?"

Cahill just shrugged his shoulders "Retired. And I have never been able to say no to you."

"You were in the army?" Teddy spoke up from beside him. "When did you serve?"

As Teddy and Nate began swapping army tales and with it drawing in everyone's attention, Arizona leaned closer to Ginny and whispered "Brilliant move Ginny!" Ginny gave her a smug grin "I learned from the best" and high-fived her. Then the two sat contently observing Teddy and Nate for the rest of their lunch break.

* * *

"What's the Torres method?" Ginny asked as she slipped off her heels.

"A fool proof way to pass the boards. And Meredith turned out to be the lucky resident." Alex rubbed his tired eyes.

Ginny laughed. "Fool proof?" She dropped her purse and keys on the counter and came to sit down on the couch next to him. "I need wine and music and maybe eventually you giving me a release" She said closing her eyes but smiling still.

"Uhn. Nope. You promised" Alex said shifting away from her and folding his hands across his chest. "I don't give you hell about the Lexie incident, and you help me study for my boards. That was our deal."

Ginny turned her head around and sighed. Upon his return from Santa Fe, Alex had patiently sat and listened to her ranting and Ginny was grateful for that. Ginny knew they were not exclusive or anything, but she also knew that if suddenly one day Alex were to go behind her back and screw with someone she worked with, she would be pissed. Alex only asked her if she felt anything for Lexie, when she replied in the negative, he had simply shook his head and smiled up at her "You are twisted, you know that. A mystery. And I like that about you." And that was it. With that he had gotten up to go change and shower before heading out to the hospital. When she started acting a little awkward around him, he had put a hand around her shoulder and made the deal with her, asking her to quit acting stupidly.

"Yeah alright. I hate boards" she said sullenly and Alex laughed. But then the idea struck her. Her face brightened with a smile. "Tonight I'm gonna teach you the Fontane method. You ready for that Dr. Karev?"

Karev looked at her sceptically. "Now what's the Fontane method?" Ginny slowly stood up. "I ask you questions. You answer. For every right answer" she leant forward and hooked her finger on his T-shirt collar "I'll lose one piece of clothing. For every wrong answer you strip. It's as simple as that. What do you think?"

Alex smirked and checked her out from top to toe. "I think there are just too many clothes!" With that he pulled Ginny towards him and kissed her soundly.

Ginny loved it when her plans worked!

* * *

"He's not answering his calls or replying to my messages" Arizona pouted as she slipped under the covers and joined Callie in bed.

"Maybe he's enjoying the sun and sand a little too much" Callie said as she wrapped her arm around Arizona's waist and pulled her closer to herself. "Don't worry, Nick said he'll come back for his next set of tests and surgeries. And he did leave a message the other day letting us know that he's booked his tickets." She kissed the back of Arizona's neck.

Arizona relaxed into Callie's arms. "Yeah. Yeah. I was just…" she didn't complete the words. Callie knew her well enough to know that till Nick was actually back at the hospital she would worry about him. But for now, she was going to let Callie hold her while she slept and tomorrow she would try calling him again.

Yup, that was the plan!

* * *

**Stuff being setup for the next few chapters. Nick will be back. And Nathan Cahill, huh? Now what about him?**

**For all those who feel I've been begging for reviews please ignore the last bit of my fics in Bold letters. For others who would still like to let me know what you thought about the current chapter, I would be glad to hear from you.**

**My Beta offer stands, Mr/Ms. Anonymous.**

**No love lost- G.**


	16. Chapter 14

**Sorry for the relative delay in uploading the new chapter. Uni is not very kind at the moment :( But I hope this new chapter is worth the wait :)**

**Un-beta-ed. So I apologize before hand for any and every grammatical error. Happy Reading!**

**Disclaimer: All recognizable charcters belong to Shonda, I'm simply playing with them.**

* * *

_Fear._

Alex Karev acknowledged that he was afraid. Afraid of being a failure, and not just academically. He was afraid he was becoming the selfish human being that he had vowed never to become. Morgan Peterson and her preemie son Tommy's case was proof. In the course of trying to become a better doctor, he had been putting aside his emotions and trudging through life, only to suddenly realize that now he could feel nothing at all.

But he wanted to. He looked up from where he was lying on Ginny's lap to meet her green eyes. She was running her fingers through his hair while her other hand was in Alex's grasp. "I never wanted to be like my father" he admits to her softly.

Ginny is touched by his simple admission. She knew it had been difficult for Alex to tell her about his childhood in the first place, but this admission would have to have been even more difficult and it held profound significance. She leant down and whispered "You are a better man Alex." With that she kissed him deeply.

Alex kissed her back with fervour. He needed her. With Ginny he never felt worthless and she pushed him to be better. She's never told him what to do and what not to do. But by simply being honest to him she had assiduously earned his trust. She trusted him with her life stories and helped him come to term with his. Whenever he told her anything, even the most gruesome parts that still made him want to hide under the covers; she listened, never once judging, never once questioning his actions. And Alex would be eternally grateful for it.

"It was my fault." He said as she drew back. "You didn't know." She told him caressing his face. "Everyone else did." He countered. "Everyone else was not busy like you saving lives. Just because you didn't pay attention to hospital gossip doesn't make you the bad guy."

Alex considered that for a moment. He recalled what Arizona had said to him. He had been surprised by Arizona's admission but he also realized the truth behind those words. He couldn't feel. He didn't have the luxury to feel. If he let each of the cases affect him, he was sure to lose his sanity. But he didn't want to do away with emotions and feelings that made him human. He marvelled at how Arizona did it.

"I still feel wretched." He added. "And that's exactly what makes you a good doctor and an even better human being." Ginny pressed a kiss to his forehead. He turned and snaked his arms around her waist and pressed his face against her stomach. As she bent a little over him, her raven hair fell curtaining him away from the rest of the world and after a long, long time, Alex felt secure.

* * *

_Fear._

The Fear was back and Arizona couldn't push it away easily. The current case had brought back her nightmares about the car crash and the tiny coffin. As she stood in the semi-darkness stroking her daughter's raven curls and feeling her strong heartbeat under her palm, she regained some of her composure. But it didn't stop the tears from rolling down her face. Holding little Tommy in her arms had been a painful reminder of her own little one just days after her birth, struggling to breathe without assistance and fighting the odds to survive. And she had. Arizona smiled as she kissed her daughter. She softly put Sofia back in her bed and after placing another kiss she finally exited the room and walked back to hers.

She saw Callie sitting up in bed, waiting for her. As Arizona slipped back into bed, Callie wordlessly put an arm around her and pulled her closer to herself. Arizona nuzzled closer to her wife, drawing comfort from the fact that her girls were truly alive and allowing the thought that she was indeed very lucky, cross her mind.

"It's hard sometimes." Arizona admitted softly.

"I know." Callie said running a hand down Arizona's arm and pressing a kiss to the side of her forehead.

After another prolonged silence Arizona spoke up again "I understand professionally that Morgan's boyfriend is absolutely correct in not raising his hopes, but as a…as a parent, I can't understand how he could ever abandon his child like that. He didn't even fight for his child." She looked up at Callie with a pained expression.

Callie stroked her hair back. "Morgan's still fighting for him. And so are you and Alex. That little kid has got all the right people in his corner. He's a fighter. He'll make it. We just need to hope that he will make it." Callie didn't know if the kid would make it. But she knew that her wife would fight till the end. Not because this patient reminded her of Sofia, but because that was who Arizona was. When there was no one else, Arizona fought for her patients. And Callie's heart swelled with pride at the thought of it. But it also meant that Arizona suffered greatly because of it. Most days she wouldn't show it- she was great at compartmentalizing her feelings. But there were days when she couldn't keep the barriers up and her worlds collided. And Callie had promised not just Arizona but also herself that she would be there, holding her wife when the going got tough.

"Those were the worst days Callie. The worst." Arizona pressed her face into Callie's chest. "Your recovery was so slow and on the other hand Sofia was struggling to just make it from one day to the next. And that…that surgery. I couldn't stand there. I couldn't stand watching. I abandoned her and ran. I couldn't watch" She was sobbing again and Callie held her as she cried.

Callie couldn't begin to imagine what Arizona must have felt during those days. True she worried about her baby too, but it was only in those moments when she was lucid. In hindsight, she was thankful that she was drugged and recovering from her own injuries during Sofia's recovery period or she would have driven not just herself but also everyone else at the hospital insane.

"You didn't abandon her. As it is, it's difficult for a parent to watch their child get hurt and to have to watch them being cut up is only too torturous. You shouldn't have had to do that." Callie placed a light kiss on Arizona's forehead when she lifted her head up to look at Callie as she spoke. "I want to thank you." This time she placed a soft kiss on Arizona's lips. "Thank you for staying strong and for fighting for us." She placed another kiss.

Arizona gripped Callie's head and pulled her closer to kiss her properly. It was a long slow kiss in which Arizona poured her heart out. When they separated, Arizona kept her hold on Callie's head and pressed their foreheads close together. "I'll never give up fighting for you two" she whispered fiercely. "Never give up fighting to keep us as a family."

The thought of losing her family was always at the back of Arizona's mind and it frightened her. Frightened her enough, to push her to promise herself that she would never give up fighting for them.

* * *

_Fear._

Yes, Teddy realized that the knocking of her heart against her ribcage was a sign of the fear she felt. She looked at the man sitting across from her in the cafeteria, and noted his eyes crinkling as he laughed, his hands flailing about as he excitedly spoke about one of his extraordinary experiences and the shy smile as he realized what he was doing even as he apologized and settled back in his chair to sip his black coffee and listen to her laugh. And more so, Teddy realized that it was this laughter of her that she was afraid of. She was afraid of the noise that emanated from within her that sounded almost alien to her ears.

After Henry's death, even though she kept up the charade of living, she was hardly surviving. While all her friends tried to help her through it, she kept pushing them away, sometimes unconsciously but most times consciously. But now here was this man, whom she knew for less than two weeks and he was making her laugh. Between them they had enough painful experiences that they could have sat and drowned their sorrows at Joe's and yet here they were sitting in the sunny cafeteria, laughing.

"A penny for your thoughts" Nate said as sat back in his chair and observed the various emotions flitting across Teddy's face. Teddy smiled as she answered "I was hoping I could sit here all day listening to your interesting stories, but sadly I need to go. Arizona needs a consult." He smiled back in understanding.

"Well then, best of luck with it." He rose as Teddy stood up to leave. He checked his watch. "I should get going too. Just because I personally know Ginny doesn't mean she isn't going to crack the whip at me" He flashed her his trademark boyish grin. Teddy laughed.

As they parted from each other in the corridor, Teddy was consumed by this unexplainable urge to turn back and call out Nate's name. He turned with a questioning smile. "How about you tell me more about the rickshaws over drinks tonight at Joe's?" Nate's smile dropped a little. "I don't drink." He stated simply. "But we could always talk about it over dinner." He said a little unsurely as he waited for Teddy's reply. A man who didn't drink, well Teddy wanted to know the story behind that too. She smiled back. "My shift gets over at 8. Shall I meet you after that?" Nate beamed back at her. "Perfect."

Teddy made her way to the peds floor with a huge smile on her face and feeling more light-hearted than she had in a long time.

* * *

_Fear._

Ginny realized that her fear was irrational. But she felt it nonetheless. She couldn't completely explain why she felt it, but it was there in the depths of her heart as she looked at Morgan clicking a picture with Alex. She voluntarily chose to ignore the child in the picture and the fact that Alex was their doctor.

She knew she was being unfair- to both of them. The poor woman was on the verge of losing her child and clinging onto every moment that she could get with her son. And Alex was, she guessed, atoning for what he believed to be his sins. But rationalizing it all didn't make her any less angry. Whenever Alex did manage to find time for her from his busy schedule, he spent it talking about Morgan and her son. She was afraid she was losing Alex, she was angry knowing that she felt afraid, and confused that she should feel any of it at all in the first place.

"They are doing it aren't they?" Callie's voice startled Ginny out of her thoughts. She frowned at the older surgeon as she came and stood languidly beside her with a big smile on her face.

"Who?" Ginny asked even though she knew who Callie was referring to.

"The people you have been staring at for the past half-hour" Callie grinned. Ginny rolled her eyes "Sometimes I forget that Mark and you are friends, and its moments like these that remind me."

Callie laughed. "You just avoided answering that question for the second time, Ginny."

"I didn't avoid. I don't know." Ginny huffed in frustration. "Alex has been spending a lot of time at Meredith's studying for his boards. So when he didn't come to my place, I just assumed he was there. Studying. But it seems…" she let it trail as she turned her head once again to look at Alex listening intently to something that Morgan was telling him.

Callie smiled; a jealous confused Ginny was too easy to mess with. So she continued with mock seriousness "It's only natural. Morgan is trying to find some comfort in Alex after her boyfriend left her. And Alex, well we all know Alex. He is only too happy to help." Callie chuckled even as Ginny whipped her head around and gave her a withering look. Callie decided to press her further "What? Why are you getting angry? Oh no! I didn't realize you and Alex were exclusive" Callie covered her mouth in surprise.

"We are not!" Ginny stated emphatically. "I don't care who Alex sleeps with." Even as she let those words slip from her mouth she felt her heart constrict. "But it's unethical" she finished lamely. "And…and he's got his boards coming up. Instead of concentrating on that, he's off offering comfort to some patient." She saw that Callie wasn't buying a single word.

Before Callie could say something else, Arizona joined them. "Hey guys!" She saw the flustered look on Ginny's face and the smug look on Callie's. "What were you guys talking about?"

"Nothing" said Ginny shrugging her shoulders even as Callie answered "Alex and Morgan." Arizona looked from Callie to Ginny and had to suppress her smile when she saw Ginny's grumpy face. Her friend was definitely into Alex, and the realization was slowly beginning to dawn on her, but she was adamantly fighting those feelings.

"Alex is just being nice to his patients. He's being more human." Arizona said by way of putting Ginny at ease. Callie scoffed at it. "Is he staying tonight?" she asked. "Yes" Arizona began slowly. "He's taken the night shift." She peeked at Ginny whose eyes had gone wide at Arizona's reply.

"How can you allow this?" Ginny burst out. "He's investing himself in a patient more than it's necessary. It can only end in a disaster."

"And why are you so worried about it?" Callie was intent on poking a love confession out of Ginny.

"Because…" Ginny paused and Callie saw her swallow visibly. "He's my friend." Callie smirked and shared a glance with Arizona who was trying hard to hold back her laugh. Ginny looked at them both and said angrily "I don't care what you guys think about this. Alex is a friend, and I care about him. And I can't stand watching him give up his career for some girl."

Although Arizona agreed with Ginny over the fact that Alex was compromising the time he could spend studying for boards, she had to smile at Ginny's poor attempt at dealing with her true feelings. "I'll talk to Alex" she said nodding her head seriously. "He definitely…" she was interrupted by her buzzing cell phone.

She paused to fish out her phone from her pocket. It was an unknown number, from outside Washington she guessed. "Hello" she said as soon as she pressed 'answer'. At first she couldn't hear what the person was saying to her. She held up a finger to silence Callie and Ginny who were bickering over something afresh.

"Yes, this is Dr. Robbins" she replied to the male enquirer on the other end of the phone.

Callie's attention was on Ginny instead of Arizona so she didn't immediately notice that Arizona was just standing mutely, the phone held more to her cheek than to her ear, nor did she notice the paling of her features. But when she did she took her phone from her limp hand even as Ginny slipped a hand around Arizona's waist to catch her from falling.

"What is it?" Ginny asked, concern lacing her voice. "Who is it Arizona?" Arizona just looked ahead with unfocused eyes as Callie spoke to someone on the phone. Ginny turned her head to look at Callie when she heard her gasp. As Callie ended the call and looked at her, Ginny knew that she was going to hear bad news and she mentally braced herself for it. "What is it, Cal?" she asked dreading the answer.

Callie took in a deep breath before answering. "It was a detective with the San Francisco PD. They found Nick's dead body in his hotel room."

Callie deftly moved forward to catch Arizona into her arms as Ginny released her and stood there shocked. The last thing she saw before she turned and ran on her heels was a limp Arizona in Callie's arms.

Ginny ran out into the rainy Seattle night, without a bloody plan in mind.

* * *

**Ouch! I know it's a little harsh, but I had to take the story forward.  
Oh and jealous confused Ginny was a pleasure to write.**

**As always I love hearing what you think about the story. I hope I can write the next chapter soon.**

**Much love- G :)**


	17. Chapter 15

**Finally sat down and wrote the chapter in one go. Phew! It's almost 2 am in my part of the world. And I'm still pretty wound up. Sort of longish chapter to make up for the delay in uploading. Happy Reading everyone! And thank you for your wonderful comments, they spur me on to keep writing.**

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong Shonda, I'm simply playing with them.**

* * *

Mark smiled as he surveyed the scene before him. Lexie was sitting cross-legged on the floor bouncing Sofia on her lap. She brought one of the squeaky rubber ducks towards Sofia who clapped and squealed in joy at Lexie's quacking. Sofia's toys were strewn across the floor; apparently Lexie was trying to figure out Sofia's favourite toy. Mark did mention that it was the stuffed giraffe, but Lexie was intent on experimenting and finding out for herself.

"So you did manage to unearth the secret?" Mark chuckled as he sat down on the floor with them.

Lexie laughed "Nope" with that she added the duck to the pile of toys on her right and proceeded to pick up a stuffed talking parrot from the pile on the left. Mark gave a bemused look at the mess around him. "You've got to be kidding me!" he said scratching his head. Watching his daughter laughing and playing in the arms of the woman he loved so much was almost enough to make Mark forget the painful realities biting him in the ass.

"Arizona?" the simple word from Lexie's mouth was enough to bring Mark back to reality.

"Still hasn't spoken a word" he said as he shook his head and ran a hand through his daughter's raven locks.

"It's been two days" Lexie observes as she flies the parrot around to keep Sofia occupied. "Fontane?" she asks looking back up at Mark.

Mark checked his watch before answering. "I'm going to pick her up at the airport this afternoon."

"She's…" Lexie hates even having to say it. She imagines how difficult it must be for Fontane to do it. "She's bringing his body back with her?"

Mark nods his head solemnly as he lets out a sigh.

* * *

Callie sighs as she watches her wife's tiny curled up figure on the very edge of their huge bed. She looks down at the tray of food she's holding. She decides she's let Arizona neglect her health for far too long already.

"Arizona" she says with purpose as she walks around the bed and stands looking down at her wife's sleeping form. "Can you stop pretending to sleep and sit up? I've brought you soup." When she doesn't get a response from her wife she adds "I'm not leaving till you eat something" She tries not to plead.

When Arizona feels Callie hovering over her even after long minutes have lapsed she slowly opens her eyes. Brown eyes meet cerulean after what feels like days. "Please" she adds softly. Arizona doesn't turn away giving Callie the first opportunity in days to press her matter forward. She sets down the tray on the bedside table and helps Arizona sit up in bed. She adjusts the fluffiest pillow behind Arizona for her to rest back before picking up the tray and placing it across her legs. She smiles at Arizona, but the smile is not returned. Not yet. Callie mentally sighs. There's a long road ahead.

"It's a Thai green soup" Callie talks to fill the suffocating silence. She breaks a piece of bread and dips it in the soup before offering it to Arizona. "You liked it the last time I made it, remember?" Arizona takes the bite wordlessly. "The original recipe had 12 different herbs, I could manage only 4" Callie continues. "You think they still work well?" she bends down and whiffs the bowl. "Did you know Thai cuisine uses flowers too? I mean, they eat flowers. A variety of them" Callie keeps on going as if on automaton.

"White carnations"

Those are the first words Arizona has spoken for days and Callie looks up in surprise. Before she can say anything Arizona continues in a ghostly whisper. "He liked carnations. We'll have carnations at his funeral."

To say that Callie was relieved would be an understatement. This is the first time that Arizona has spoken to her in two days since receiving the news of Nick's death. And if she's talking about the funeral, then at least she's one step towards accepting his death. "We can have anything that you like" Callie says as she gently brushes back the golden locks from the tear-stained face.

Arizona is quite through the next few morsels of food. "No" she says suddenly making Callie stop midway with the spoon still in the air. "He said he thought white roses looked more elegant. We had roses on our wedding." There is a faraway look in her eyes. "The garden had yellow and white roses. No red ones. And he tied a white one to my bike's handle." She looks around with worried eyes. "Carnations…no roses. Single long stemmed white rose. Yes yes Roses." She scampers off from the bed towards the wardrobe.

"Arizona what are you doing?" Callie asks as she drops the spoon back in the bowl and turns to look at her wife who's rummaging through their clothes.

"It's tomorrow isn't it?" She asks poking her head out. "And I have no clothes to wear!" There is a new desperation in her voice.

Callie gets off the bed and moves slowly towards her wife. "Arizona, honey, listen to me."

"This one" Arizona steps back holding a simple thin strapped knee length black dress. She waits for Callie's approval. Callie nods her head. "Arizona" she tries to move closer.

"Do you have anything appropriate for the occasion?" Arizona asks throwing the newly selected dress on the ground beside her and turning back towards the wardrobe. "How can we not have clothes for such an occasion? Every black dress you have screams sexy, and you can't go to a funeral looking sexy Calliope" she admonishes her wife. Callie bends down to pick up the fallen dress. "I do have one" she says softly.

"You do?" Arizona asks surprised, momentarily pausing her search and turns to look back at her wife. Callie nods her head. After a moment Arizona's brow again furrow as she places a hand on her hips and huffs out "I hope Ginny has the sense to bring his clothes along. What else will they dress him in? It's tomorrow isn't it?" she looks at Callie and Callie can see her wife waiting for her to say- no, no, nothing's changed, there's no funeral to attend tomorrow. But Callie steels herself as she takes another step closer to her wife and whispers. "Yes it's tomorrow." She moves her hands forward and gently places them on Arizona's arms, not breaking her eye contact for even a moment.

"Have you spoken to her?" Arizona's voice is hardly above a whisper. "She doesn't pick up my calls." She complains to her wife.

Callie knows Ginny has been avoiding Arizona's calls. And she understands. She also knows that Ginny volunteering to go to San Francisco and bring back Nick's body has a lot to do to avoid dealing with Arizona. Right before leaving for the airport, Ginny had stopped by to speak with Callie. Never once did she ask how Arizona is holding up. She only hugged Callie and asked her to be patient and strong for Arizona. "If nothing else works, feed her donuts" with those last words she adjusted her bag on her shoulder and walked out of the apartment.

"I did. Once today morning." Callie says as she rubs Arizona's arms soothingly. "Before she boarded the flight back home. She's…she's…"

"Say it." Arizona says sharply. "Say it so that I can hear the words loud and clear."

Callie takes a breath to steady herself. "She's bringing his body home."

"Did they tell her how…how he…he died?" she says shutting her eyes and closing the distance between herself and Callie. She lays her head on Callie's chest while Callie holds her in a warm embrace.

"The crutches slipped from his hand and he fell, his head hitting the sharp edge of the coffee table in his room. He immediately lost consciousness. Housekeeping found him only next day around noon. By then he had lost a lot of blood. They took him into surgery. His heart was already weak, couldn't stand the stress of a surgery." As a doctor Callie knew that till she said the final words, there was no closure for the bereaving family. "They did what they could, but they couldn't save him." She drew in a strong breath before adding. "He died."

With those final words Arizona let the first tears escape from her eyes.

* * *

Ginny rubbed her eyes once, twice, thrice. Yet she felt there was something stuck that was stinging her eyes. She cursed loudly as she opened the door to her apartment. The sight that welcomed her was more than pleasant. Her living room looked spotlessly clean, when she distinctly remembers leaving everything in a mess as she hurried to the airport. As she moved deeper into the apartment the hum of the washing machine and the aroma of something spicy being cooked, hit her. She dropped her bag on the couch and moved towards the kitchen.

Alex Karev was standing in her kitchen wearing his patent Disney shorts (the existence of which she was made to swear never to reveal) and one of her over-sized T-shirts that she doesn't remember where she bought from, except that it has always been in her possession and that she's always found them to be too huge. But they seem to fit perfectly around his broad shoulders. He was stacking away grocery in the cabinets when she stepped into the kitchen.

"Hey" he lets out breathily when he finally sees her. "Ummm…I got two cartons of toned milk." He says picking up the two in either hand. "The non-flavoured one for you, the flavoured one for me" He adds with a smile before opening the refrigerator and putting them away. "Dinners almost ready." He announces as he pulls back his head and walks over to the stove. "Mark gave me a heads up." He speaks as he tosses the vegetables for a final time before smartly plating up the dishes.

"Alex" Ginny says calmly and waits for him to look up.

"Yeah?" He places the two plates on the table and wipes his hands on his shorts.

"Get out of my house." Ginny says it with such calmness and such finality, that Alex laughs nervously before drawing out the chair. "Yeah. Now sit down. It's ok, you can thank me later for being nice. Oh by the way, all your mail is on the coffee table. I think there are a few bills too. And you have 3 new official messages I saved…" he looks up from his rambling and stops midway through putting the spoon into his mouth. "What?" he asks his eyes widening and confusion clear on his face.

"I said get out of my house." Ginny repeats this time her voice one octave higher.

"Is everything alright?" he asks as he stands up and moves towards her, arms outstretched. "Did something happen in Frisco?"

"Don't touch me" she spits out as she steps back from his reach.

"What the hell Ginny! Tell me what's wrong." Alex steps closer.

"What's wrong?" Ginny laughs. It's mirthless. It's nothing like Alex has heard from her ever before. "I try calling you, over and over again, and you're too busy to pick up. All I get are half-arsed messages from you telling me about the hospital and about Arizona. Did you even care…" she shakes her head violently. "No no you didn't care. Why would you care?" She rubs her eyes again. "Jesus this thing in my eye!" she brushes him aside as she moves to the sink and washes her eyes.

"Of course I care" Alex says his voice small. "I didn't call you at all the odd hours when I was free. I didn't think you'd pick up." He states matter-of-factly.

"Oh so now you know how I would behave in a given situation? You don't know me. Don't pretend to know me. Just get out. Get out" she's shouting by the end of the sentence even as she splashes water on her face. Alex is not fazed by her outburst, at least not completely. He covers the distance between them in three powerful strides and takes hold of her by her arms.

"I know you're upset." He says softly searching her eyes. "But don't go about blaming me. I've lived these three days like a zombie. I haven't even had the chance to study for the boards. With no Arizona, the Peds unit is a mess. And all the cases…" Ginny finally lets her eyes roam over his face and takes in his haggard appearance. Dark circles underneath his eyes, the usual stubble out-growing into a proper beard. Her resolve almost breaks at the earnest look on his face but then she steels herself again.

"Aah…the case! Morgan's case isn't it? I'm sure you had plenty of time for that?" Alex flinches at the pure anger in her voice. "Tommy is getting worse" he admits gravely. Ginny pushes him away. "I may not have lost my closest friend like Arizona, but I did carry a dead friend back home. I was there, I identified his body, I signed the papers, I…" she finally lets the sob that she has been holding back escape. She wipes a hand across the corner of her eyes. "And all this while I knew Arizona was breaking apart, and I knew there was nothing I could do for her this time. Not again, I promised myself once I wouldn't and now again, this…."

Alex does not completely understand her disjointed train of thoughts. He knows in parts what Ginny and Arizona's past relationship was like. But right now, as he watched Ginny break down in front of him all he can think of doing is taking her in his arms and never letting her go. And he tries to do just that but Ginny violently thwarts his attempts. "Leave" she screeches.

10 minutes later Alex is changed into his jeans but he's still wearing her T-shirt. He stops by Ginny as she's sitting on the couch. The food still on the kitchen table untouched. He reaches out a hand to touch her but stops. "I…call me. Or I'll meet you tomorrow at the funeral." With that Alex walks out of the door and softly closes the door behind him.

She waits for the ding of the elevator. Once. Then after a minute twice. Alex has truly left. Finally she lets the tears that she has been holding back flood out. Everything was a mess. She couldn't let Alex come so close. She couldn't. She couldn't. Those were her last thoughts as she curled up on her side and finally fell asleep on the couch.

* * *

"When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight. Kahlil Gibran" Ginny folds back the paper and looks up to meet Arizona's moistened eyes. Arizona's pale face is blank, void of any and every emotion. No body realizes that she isn't with them there at Nick's funeral.

Arizona in fact is lost in her memories of once long forgotten summers. She can almost clearly see Tim and Nick running around with capes and fighting each other with stakes they pretend are swords. Arizona sits on the grass and looks up at them, brushing her blonde hair aside. "Why are you using swords? Why can't you use guns? You guys are so boring" she drawls.

"Phoenix has a point" Nick agrees, simply because he's losing to Tim.

"My name's Arizona" she counters vehemently. It causes both Tim and Nick to laugh out. "Be nice to her" Tim adds his 'sword' pointing right under Nick's chin.

"I'm always nice to her" Nick pushes away Tim's hand. "Right phoenix?" he winks at her.

That wink! Arizona can't seem to get that wink out of her head. It was the same wink he sent her when Tim and he were going off to boot camp and she asked him to play nice and keep calling back home. "I always do Phoenix" he winked. "And I'll make sure your darling Tim survives first week." Tim scoffs. "I'll be the one keeping you from running away." Their banter fades away as Arizona watches them step over the doorway in their uniforms. Tim in his Marine's outfit, Nick in his Rangers'. She remembers crying when she saw the boys in their uniform, but more than that she remembers them teasing her for crying. They even showed up at her graduation ceremony in their uniforms and all three picked girls at the bar afterwards. "Not bad, Phoenix!" Nick had winked when he saw her effortlessly charm a brunette.

"Arizona" Callie's soft voice brings her out of her reverie. Callie tells her it's her turn. She looks down at the single long stem of white rose that she's holding. She takes a deep breath and steps forward. As she bends to place the flower on his closed casket she whispers "Take care of Tim, Nick." With that she steps back into her wife's embrace. She looks all around her. It's just a small group of her friends. None of them knew Nick. But everyone is here, not for him, but for her. She is thankful for that, and she wishes they could have known the wonderful person that Nick was. She looks up at Callie. Not even Callie got a proper chance to know him. Callie catches Arizona looking at her and lowers her face to place a chaste kiss. Arizona then turns her head to look at the only other person gathered there who knew Nick even remotely.

Ginny is pressed against Nate's side as he wraps her in a powerful one-hand hug. Arizona notices Alex standing on her other side looking morosely at Ginny but quite curiously keeping his distance. As Nate releases Ginny she sniffles and then hugs Teddy before turning and coming face to face with Alex. The two just stand looking at each other for a long minute before Ginny brushes past him. Alex momentarily considers going after her but then he stops and looks at Arizona. He realizes that Arizona has been watching their exchange. He sends her a soft smile. When Arizona had met him for the first time she didn't think him capable of such deep emotions. Yet, he had grown so much. She realized that if there was someone whom Ginny needed right now it was Alex. She points towards Ginny and mouths "go". Alex takes a moment to understand what she's saying before giving her a broad smile, turning on his heels and taking off after Ginny.

* * *

Ginny takes another swig from the beer bottle before walking towards the door to open it. When she sees that it's Alex standing outside she deftly tries to shut the door back but Alex inserts his foot and effectively blocks it. After a tiny struggle Ginny gives up and huffs as she moves away from the door. As she flops down on the couch Alex shuts the door behind him and moves into the room.

"I'm not going anywhere." He states with finality as he kneels down before her. She opens her mouth to say something, but then shuts it. She just hangs her head. Alex brushes back the hair from her face. "I care about you" he says honestly. The words pouring out of him involuntarily. "I care about you so much that it scares me." He leans forward and captures her lips in a searing kiss. Ginny lets her hand entangle in his hair as she pulls him closer. He places his hands on her hips as they break apart for want of air. In one fluid motion Alex stands up, picking up Ginny in his arms even as she lets out a surprised protest. He shuts her up with a kiss and continues to walk towards the bedroom.

* * *

Arizona pushes Callie against the bedroom door and forcefully claims her lips in a heated kiss. As Callie slips the thin straps off Arizona's shoulder, the blonde flips back her hair and placing her hands on either side of Callie's face she whispers. "Make me feel alive, Callie. Please." Callie doesn't have to be asked twice. She dutifully obliges her wife as she pushes their bodies onto the bed.

Hours later, as Arizona lay with her head resting on Callie's naked torso; she feels the calming effects of the light alcohol she had consumed earlier and more importantly the simple rise and fall of Callie's chest. Callie's peaceful breathing was her favourite lullaby. She missed Tim. She missed Nick. And she had almost thought that after the two left, she would be all alone. But she feels the woman beneath her, and her eyes fall on the baby monitor kept on the bedside table and she knows she has so many reasons to live and that she isn't alone. Callie had seared it into her brain tonight, again and again. She kisses the caramel skin beneath her and sighed.

Tomorrow was a new day. And she was going to welcome it with open arms and her patent smile. That was her plan.

* * *

**Soooo...I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations. Any and every mistake would be my own.**

**As always I love getting your reviews, that let me know I'm still on the right track. Thanx a ton!**

**much love- G :)**


	18. Chapter 16

**Managed another chapter finally! :) This one again is a bit low on Calzona and sort of a missing moment collection of two episodes. Crucial developments though. I hope the time jumps don't pose much of a problem.** **Happy Reading!**

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Shonda, I'm simply playing with them.**

* * *

"Arizona, just relax!" Callie's exasperation finally spilling over. "Alex will do just fine" she added a touch more softly as she squeezed her wife's hand. Across the table, Arizona just huffed.

"He missed his first session!" She angrily poked the food around in her plate.

"Don't tell me you weren't proud of him for coming back?" Callie smirked. "And that too to check up on a patient who isn't even his"

Arizona smiled as she looked up and met Callie's eyes "So so proud of him" she admitted gushingly. And almost instantly the smile dropped from her face "But he's such an idiot. Who does that? And the boards, at the freaking boards!"

"We always knew Alex was gutsy" Callie says matter-of-factly as she takes a bite of her own food. "Plus he's worked hard, I'm sure he'll make it through."

Arizona just nods absent-mindedly. "How come you're not worried about Grey?" she finally questions her wife.

"Because" Callie drawls "the Torres method never fails" she can't keep the grin off her face. It earns her a snort from Arizona who begins to re-attack her food.

"Ok now can we please stop talking about our residents and enjoy our rare evening together? It's been ages since we did the whole wine and dine thing." Callie pours more wine into their glasses, before handing over one to Arizona. "And it's not every day you get such a willing and skilled babysitter, so please let's just relax and let me pamper you, ok?" she lifts Arizona's palm and kisses the back of it softly before taking a sip of her wine.

Arizona puts down her wine glass as she chuckles before asking Callie "And how exactly did you manage that? Ginny loves kids and she's awesome with them. But that's a secret very few know. Plus she never actively volunteers to take up any extra responsibility. So tell me genius, what exactly are the terms of your deal?"

Callie laughs. "None actually. She was bored and missing Alex, though she didn't say that out loud." Arizona snickers as she concurs "And she won't, not anytime soon. Ginny is really stubborn." She shakes her head at her friend's stupidity and childishness. But she also understands that Ginny has deep underlying trust issues.

"So when I said I wanted to take you out for dinner she offered to babysit Sofia. I was taken aback. And really, I didn't know how good she was with kids, but five minutes in Ginny's arms and Sofia was laughing and babbling away. And watching them, I just knew they'd be alright." Callie finished with a smile.

* * *

"Tell Alex he's freaking out for nothing!" Ginny coos in her baby voice as she extends her phone to Sofia's ears. Sofia immediately tries to hold it in her pudgy hands as she starts babbling away. "Yup, that's right!" Ginny says, finally taking the phone away and pulling Sofia into her lap as she rests back against the couch. "Did you hear that?" she asks Alex on the other end of the phone who simply laughs in response. As Sofia begins to squirm, Ginny hands the little one a bright coloured airplane that immediately arrests her attention.

"You two seem to be having a great time" Alex half shouts over the rising noise in the background. He looks over his shoulder and sees Meredith motioning him to come over. He holds up a finger to let her know he'll be there in a minute. "Ok, listen I gotta go, I'll let you know when the results come out."

"Yeah ok. Good night" Ginny says chirpily. "And oh Alex…"

Alex puts back the phone close to his ears and waits for her words. "All the best" she chimes happily on the other end. He manages a "thanks" before she cuts off the line. He shakes his head. What else should he have expected her to say? He shrugs his shoulder and pulling his coat tightly around him he walks up to Meredith and Cristina who are standing by the stairs in the hotel foyer.

"Was that Ginevra Fontane?" Meredith asks, as the three start trudging up the stairs. Alex simply nods his head. "You like that chick?" Yang asks from his other side.

He stops suddenly as the other two climb two steps higher before turning around to catch him looking straight ahead with a bemused expression on his face. "Yeah, yeah, I think I do!" he finally admits as he scratches his head.

"Do we get to meet her any time soon?" Meredith asks with a smile on her face. "Only if you promise to not scare her away" Alex says directly looking at Cristina. "Can't promise" Cristina answers honestly as she turns back and continues walking up the stairs.

* * *

"He passed his boards!" Arizona says excitedly clapping her hands and causing Sofia to clap her hands in response.

"Yeah, and that's the tenth time you've said that this morning" Callie monotones as she pours out coffee for Arizona.

"Callie, just look at it, one session, one session is all he got and he passed" she continues gleefully. It was nice seeing the blonde finally smiling and going back to her normal routine, Callie mused. After Nick's death, she had worried how Arizona would cope, but since the funeral Arizona had slowly but steadily found back her rhythm. Callie looks from the excitedly bouncing blonde to the equally happy bouncing brunette in the high chair and finally lets go of her morning grumpiness to assent to a huge smile. "Yeah he did great."

* * *

"And this is how you want to celebrate?" Ginny asks as Alex takes hold of her hand and they criss-cross the street to reach Joe's. "I thought we could have a more private celebration" she pouts.

Alex turns around and smiles as he lifts her face towards his. "We can always go back and do that, after we've got drunk" He places a light kiss on her pouted lips. "It's just some drinks with friends, if you get tired or bored, we'll head back." He promises her solemnly.

"They are your friends, I don't even know them. They don't even like me" she complained as Alex turned and pulled her through the door. Once inside the crowded bar, Alex pulled her close to himself and putting a hand around her shoulders, he whispered to her "You know each one of them, I'm sure you've made them work their asses off. Plus they'll like you, this will be a start. And if you find things going the wrong way, just order booze for all of them."

Alex was right; they did like her or at least were beginning to. It did take time, close to three hours, and was aided by uninterrupted rounds of booze. April was wasted and leaning against an equally wasted Avery as a drunk Meredith and Alex loudly cheered Cristina and Ginny as they attempted to do cart wheels. Eventually Ginny just gave up and sat down cross legged on the floor while Cristina ungracefully landed next to her.

"Have you ever eaten a camel?" Cristina asked out of nowhere. Ginny thought gravely for a second before violently shaking her head. "I've eaten wolf's brains. Does that count?"

Cristina looked at her with awe. "Wow Alex, I like your girl" she says seriously as she looks at Alex and gives him a thumbs up. Alex not being as drunk as the rest of them blushes lightly at that.

"How does it taste?" Meredith asks as she helps Ginny and Cristina to their feet. "Not bad when I ate it." Ginny says nonchalantly. "But I puked my intestines out once they told me what it was." She was standing with her arms languidly around Cristina's neck. "Yeah? I think…" Cristina ducked away from Ginny and ran towards the restroom. Meredith rolled her eyes as she followed Cristina. "Catch you guys later" she waved to them before disappearing behind the restroom door.

Alex chuckled as she wrapped his arm around Ginny's shoulder. "Hey guys, we'll get going" he announced to the other two. April finally opened her eyes to smile at Ginny "You're nice , not stuck-up at all" she delivers her final verdict. "Yeah" Avery slurs as he extends his hand forward to Ginny who graciously accepts it.

"I think you did great" Alex announces as the two finally step out into the cold night air. She looks up happily at him "I did?"

"You did." Alex replies as he places a kiss on her forehead and pulls her closer to himself. "They didn't stand a chance. Who can keep from falling in love with you?"

* * *

"Karev is staying" Arizona sang. Yes she was super happy! As she looked around the conference room and saw the worried faces of her fellow surgeons she felt a little guilty at feeling so happy. But hell, she had worked hard to mentor Karev, and now he had proved himself eligible for the Peds fellowship, she was proud and she had every right to show it. Teddy slumps further in her chair even as Owen lets his lips twist in a half-smile and puts a tick beside Karev's name. Arizona gives her friend a sympathetic smile before turning her head and finding Ginny, sending a wink in her direction. Callie just laughed at the blonde's antics.

" any new additions?" Hunt's tired voice makes Ginny turn her attention away from her friend. She looks down at the paper in front of her and smiles. "Three actually- 2 residents, 1 fellow. And I'm very proud of them, coz I stole them from Hopkins." Mark claps her on her shoulder and she grins at the smiles of approval round the table. Yeah, Ginny thought to herself, her day was actually playing out to plan today.

* * *

Alex had no idea how he had ended up the way he had ended up- top of the class, that is. He didn't believe Webber at first, but after the call from Hopkins, he was feeling not just top of the class, but top of the world. He had to tell Ginny the news, she would be elated. But before he could tell her anything, he had to talk to Hunt, if he played his cards right he might hit yet another jackpot. Today Lady Luck was smiling at him, he felt as if he couldn't put a single wrong foot today.

* * *

Ginny was feeling all wrong. She felt the OR was spinning. The OR didn't spin right? Not when you were standing with a knife in one hand ready to make a cut. The spinning motion was only halted by a weird new sensation building up within her. A wave was building up in the pits of her stomach and if she didn't run from the place right now she was gonna puke all over the patient. So she stepped back, and Lexie catching her unsteady movements stepped forward and took the knife from her. Ginny gestured wildly for something with her left hand as she ripped off her mask with her right, before bending over holding her stomach. The kind, experienced nurses had understood, and within seconds they held a plastic bag right in front of her face before she could dirty the OR.

As wave after wave finally ebbed out of her body she stood back up a little straighter and examined the contents of the bag. There wasn't much volume. Yet the way she had felt wretched, she felt she could have thrown up an elephant. The relief was short-lived as she felt her muscles unnaturally relaxing and she fell as a heap onto the floor. Right before her head hit the ground she thought about the street lights in Madrid outside her home.

* * *

BAM!

Alex was slammed against the wall and when his eyes landed on the short blonde pissed off Peds surgeon standing before him, his eyes flew open in surprise. He had been an amateur boxer, and he had been punched about all his life, but hell this woman's punches packed some power. In that moment he truly realized the gravity of her marine upbringing. She was hurling abuses at him, and Alex had yet to cue into what she was saying.

"…ungrateful son of a bitch! You didn't even have the courage to come tell me that did you? I had to learn about it from Hunt. You" she leaped towards him again, but he fended off her punch, so instead she latched on to his lapels and pulled him towards her. "You…" she was at a loss for words. Alex, her Alex was considering leaving the hospital. She had been positive that he had wanted to stay. And now, she felt nothing short of betrayed.

"It's John Hopkins!" Alex barked back at her. "They want me. You of all people should know how great that is right?" He had worked so hard for this, Robbins had worked so hard, and now they had achieved it, hadn't they? He was going to follow in the footsteps of the one surgeon he looked up to.

Before Arizona could launch into another attack, Callie was pulling her away from him. "Arizona" she said a little breathily. "Did you hear?" she asked concern lacing her voice.

"Yeah" Arizona spit out. "I had to hear from Hunt, because Karev couldn't be man enough to come tell me. You…" She tried moving around her wife to hit Karev again but he smartly moved to stand right behind Torres.

"Have you checked up on her yet?" Callie's question caught Arizona's attention. "Wait, who? Who are you talking about?" Arizona's eyes finally focused on Callie's.

"Ginny" Callie said softly.

"What happened to her?" Alex jumped up from behind her. "Where is she? What happened?"

Callie looked at the two concerned faces. "Umm…don't know yet. Ginny fainted in the OR, right now she's in room 283 under observation. Bailey ordered her a few blood tests. Did she eat something out of the ordinary?" Her question was directed towards Alex who was already backing away from the couple.

283. 283. 283. Alex didn't answer as he bolted across the corridor. Arizona looked up at Callie before sighing heavily, turning on her heels and taking off after Karev. Callie didn't wait around either.

* * *

Ginny knows the smell. It's familiar, and yet she can't place it. Then the noises start hitting her. The first is a female's voice. Not her mother's. But she knows it- ah! Arizona's. She relaxes. Then another voice. Gruff. This time she doesn't have to rack her brains. She knows exactly whose voice it is.

"Alex?"

Ginny's voice interrupts Alex and Arizona and they quickly look from one another to Ginny's bed before hurrying over to her side. Callie gets up from the couch and swiftly moves to Ginny's side. She lies there looking at the concerned faces of her three friends. Arizona sits down at the foot of the bed and takes Ginny's hands in hers. "Hey" she says softly. "How you feeling now?"

Ginny smiles. "Weightless. Better" the words come out in a hoarse whisper. "Water" she stretches her arms out. Instantly Callie is filling up a glass of water for her as Alex helps her sit up in bed. He adjusts the pillow, and moves the locks of hair from her face, securing them behind her ears. Then he sits down putting an arm round her shoulder.

As Ginny sips from her glass, she notices the angry looks Arizona is sending Alex and feels Alex stiffening beside her. "What happened?" she asks cautiously.

"We don't know yet. Could be just a simple case of food poisoning" Callie supplies easily as she draws a chair close to the bed and sits down. "No between these two?" Ginny rephrases the question as she quirks her eyebrow towards Arizona and then points towards Alex. Callie doesn't answer, choosing instead to avert her eyes.

"So you haven't told her either?" Arizona asks with disbelief. "When were you planning to? After you had left? I knew from the beginning that you were all wrong…"

"Right when you pushed me against the wall" Alex cuts her off angrily. "I was coming to tell you" he says more softly as he looks at Ginny.

"Coming to tell me what?" Ginny asks trepidation clear in her voice.

"That he's leaving Seattle for Hopkins" Arizona says before Alex has a chance to phrase it better.

"What? No…I mean…I got the offer." He looks away angrily from Robbins to concentrate on Ginny. He knew Ginny would understand the magnificence of his achievement and what it meant for him. But before he could say anything else a nurse lightly knocked on the door and entered the room. "Your reports . If you need anything I'll be right by the station."

Ginny wordlessly took the report. It was much easier to concentrate on the reports than letting the reality and consequences of Alex's words sink in. She pushed away the thoughts of what it meant if Alex moved right across the continent, what it meant for 'them'?; was there even a 'them'?; had there ever been a 'them'? With nimble fingers she slipped out the report from the envelope and started reading it.

"Just shut up you two" Callie finally snapped causing both Arizona and Alex to pause midway through their argument. "If you want to continue just take your argument elsewhere" Callie said in her strict motherly tone. Arizona huffed as Alex glared at her.

"What does the report say? Viral?" Callie poses her question to Ginny.

The report slips from Ginny's finger and falls onto her lap even as the words imperceptibly slip out of her mouth "It says I'm pregnant."

Was there ever a plan that went sooo sooo so bloody wrong?!

* * *

**OOHHHKKK!**

**I don't plan to make this a Ginny-Alex fic, tempted to, but I won't. And I don't intent to write in detail about the pregnancy period, snippets of course, but largely delving into matters closer to Calzona. Have patients, they'll surface. **

**As always I love ur reviews, they keep me motivated.**

**Lots of love- G :)**


	19. Chapter 17

**So sorry for the late update, I know this chapter has been long overdue but I had stupid exams to contend with. For the guest, who asked if I had forgotten about you guys, then no, absolutely not. I had the story ready, but after exams I just couldn't sit down and type that first line...once the first line got underway, the rest of the story took less time. Thank You all for your patience. I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations. Happy Reading!**

**Disclaimer: Still all recognizable characters belong to Shonda, I'm only (sadly) playing with them.**

* * *

"How did you deal with it all?"

At Alex's question, Arizona sighs and lifts her head from the report she had been reading. She looks at the younger surgeon stretched out on the couch in her office, his hands behind his head, his legs crossed over one another. He is still looking up towards the ceiling, when Arizona pushes her chair away from her desk and slipping out of her sneakers, she props up her feet on the desk.

"I loved her" Arizona answered simply.

"And you were suddenly ready to have a child you didn't even want?" Alex pushed it further. He turned his head to look at Arizona. She was looking at the wedding band on her finger. There was a considerably long pause before Arizona answered the particular question. "I thought I didn't want children, but any child that belonged to Calliope, I had no doubt ever that I would be able to love it." She finally turned her head to look at Alex "And then I heard Sofia's heartbeat, and knew for sure that I would love the kid with all my being" Her face lit up with a smile.

Alex turned back his head to consider her statement. "But weren't you blindsided? I mean, were you even ready for it?" Arizona understood that Alex was trying to wrap his head around all the unexpected developments. She didn't blame the poor guy's hesitation. He hadn't even confessed his love to Ginny, their relationship, or non-relationship was still pretty much new and right when he was on the cusp of a great professional change, all things had gone topsy-turvy. She had to admit that it was something similar to what she experienced after coming back from Africa, but not completely so. There was one glaring difference- She loved Callie, and Callie loved Arizona, and the rest of it didn't matter, they could have made anything work.

"When I came back from Africa the only thing I was afraid of was the possibility that Callie would not take me back. I wanted desperately to make things alright, back to how it was between us. And when she told me about the pregnancy, I was shocked. And I…I felt…"Arizona ran her hand through her blonde curls. She had never before opened up to Alex like this, but somehow she felt comfortable doing so now. "…betrayed" her voice came out so small that Alex turned to look at her. He saw the look of pain on her face. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to" Alex offered mildly. "But…" he looked away from her face "I just feel so lost, I have no idea what to do! What Ginny wants me to do! And you are the only person whose advice I trust"

Arizona gave him a small smile. "So yes, I was blindsided initially. And I was so angry that Callie had slept with Mark. Plus my insecurities were back with full force. I was so afraid that Callie was going to go back to Mark." She mused at the comfortable arrangement the three parents had now. "But then Callie told me she wanted me to be there in the baby's life, and that's when I knew that I loved Callie so much that no matter what I would stay and fight for us."

Alex was still mulling over what Arizona had confessed to him. Sure, his condition was different. There was no third person. It was his child- the moment he let that thought flit through his mind, his lips curled upwards in an unconscious smile. But unlike Arizona, he didn't know where he stood with Ginny. He had been vaguely aware of his feelings for her for the past few weeks, but he had no idea about the intensity of Ginny's feelings. What if she had only been nice to him because he was her only friend in Seattle apart from Arizona? What if she didn't want this child _with him_? He knew he wasn't worth it. Ginny was perfect, everyone could see that, couldn't they? But who was he?

* * *

"When do you plan to speak to him?" Callie asked as she came over to Ginny who was sitting slumped on a stool, her head resting on the breakfast bar in the kitchen. She placed a plate of steak and herbs in front of the younger brunette and said softly "Eat up". When Ginny began shaking her head in refusal, Callie pressed a little sternly "Eat up now, Ginny. The baby needs it if not you."

That seemed to make Ginny at least lift up her head and look at the plate of food before her. She turned her head towards Callie who was now sitting on the stool beside her, "How the hell did you deal with it all?"

Callie drummed her fingers lightly on the hardtop surface before her. "I was devastated at first. I mean, I wanted a baby, I have always wanted to have my own child, but the timing…the timing sucked!" She met Ginny's distraught green eyes. "Plus I was ashamed that I had cheated on Arizona, no matter the fact that we had broken up then. Still it hurt to admit to her that within months of her being gone, I had gone back to my old ways of sleeping with Mark, if only to forget all the pain of the separation." She lowered her eyes in shame. "But in some inner space, I was happy I guess. I was pregnant after all." She looked up hoping Ginny would understand. Ginny nodded her head lightly "Yeah, I get that" she said softly as she took a small bite of her food.

Even through her current undecided state of relationship with Alex, she never once considered not having this baby. But she wasn't quite sure of the changes it would entail. Her relationship with Alex was so complex and confusing at present that she simply pushed it to the backburner and concentrated on her other troubles. "I don't know if I'm ready for motherhood" she admitted softly to Callie. Somehow she found it easier to talk to Callie than to Arizona. Which is why as soon as she had received the report she had thrown Arizona and Alex out of her room, who being too stunned with the news themselves had hurriedly rushed out at her outburst. But Callie had hung back in the room with her. And just like that, without having asked for it, Callie was helping her cope with the sudden developments.

Callie had to smile at the younger woman. She knew how good Ginny was with kids and not just good, but also responsible. But she understood her fears. "All first time mothers are scared Ginny. You have time to prepare yourself before the baby is born"

"What about professionally?" Ginny knew that with the baby, she would have lesser time to invest at work, and at a time when the Oncology department was still in a nascent state and needed her. "You have an excellent staff" Callie supplied easily. Which was true, so far she had been lucky. Hopefully they would be able to keep the things running smoothly even in her absence. But that was all in the future. What about the immediate? The immediate was scaring the shit out of her.

"Alex" she groaned. Callie ran a hand down her arm. "Talk to him" she advised Ginny again. "You are not the only one here in this situation" Ginny covered one half of her face, as she continued to put spoonful of food in her mouth. "He's going off to Hopkins. And this…this thing" she said exasperatedly "might hold him back. God, I don't want to be a monster that holds him back. Even if he stayed he would be miserable and only staying because of the child, not because he loved me, not because…"

"Ginny stop" Callie said as she scooted over closer to her and began rubbing her shoulder. "Stop over thinking. Don't go deciding what Alex will do or not do. You know…" Callie paused; she was going to share some intimate detail about herself and Arizona to Ginny, Ginny who had been Arizona's ex. She ran through all the possible awkwardness that the talk might create, but one look at the confused woman beside her, she knew she had to help her out. "When Arizona got that grant in Africa, both of us were thinking about the other. I was thinking I could put aside my discomfort to simply be with Arizona and support her. And Arizona wanted to let me have the life I loved so much, so she left me at the airport, asked me to go back. But you know what, we were both being stupid. Relationships are not about individually what we want, but what we want together. It stops being me and you, but becomes a matter about us. Compromise is not a bad thing, not when you love the other person, and your happiness is intimately linked to theirs."

Ginny huffed in response "I know what compromise can do to a relationship. My parents have been married for the past 34 years, togetherness, that's an entirely different thing. It was simply a compromise, earlier it was for me, less legal trouble. And later on, they had adjusted very well to their arrangement, and it was convenient for them to remain married. Plus they could then claim to be the power couple" She laughed, it was mirthless. "But they had loved each other at some point of time I believe" she added the last part softly. "What if…what if this baby changes whatever it is that Alex and I have between us?"

"Again, over-thinking" Callie answered gently. She was touched by Ginny opening up to her about her parents. She doesn't remember her ever talking about them, Arizona had told her that it was a touchy subject with Ginny. "You need to talk to Alex. Every relationship is different; you have to give Alex a chance to say what he thinks about it all. Your parents…"

"My parents" Ginny suddenly gasped, her eyes widening. "What will I tell my parents?" There was a renewed distress on her face. "Are they going to be pissed-off?" Callie's question caused Ginny to laugh out. "Pissed off? They are gonna blow me to pieces." Ginny stated covering her face with her hands. "Strict Roman Catholic family. My nonna would have a heart attack if she knew I was having a child out of wedlock. And like always my parents are gonna be disappointed with me." Callie could feel Ginny's voice getting thick with emotions.

"Hey, I don't think they'd see you as a disappointment. You are a world-class surgeon. You…" Callie's "look-at-the-rainbows" speech was cut-off harshly by Ginny. "You don't know my parents. To them I will always be the daughter who had potential to be great but chose to be an ordinary doctor. That's how they see it. And because I have no siblings, they blame me for not having fulfilled their hopes and aspirations. I've always tried to make them proud…and I've always failed" Her voice was so small that Callie wrapped an arm around her and whispered. "They'll come around…"

"They won't" Ginny stated vehemently. Callie drew in a deep breath. "My family is not much different, you know. They didn't accept it when I came out to them. My mother still doesn't accept my marriage to Arizona; she said Sofia was damned, that I should just marry Mark…" Callie had to pause so as not to let her emotions catch up to her. "But my dad…my dad came around. He saw how much I loved Arizona, and he thankfully loved me enough to accept me as I was. If your parents loved you enough to not hurt you with their divorce, I'm sure they'll eventually accept it all. Plus you never know Alex might just…"

"Stop Cal, stop building lovely dreams for me" Ginny protested in a tired voice. She pushed her half-eaten plate away. "Alex, he, I….I don't know" Her shoulders sagged. Callie pulled the plate back and nudged Ginny to continue eating. "What if…"

* * *

"What if she doesn't want me in the baby's life?" Alex's distressed voice filled up Arizona's quiet office. "With my violent history, she may be right in thinking that I would be a bad influence. I could…"

"Alex, shut up" Arizona sat up straighter in her chair. She sighed as she got up from her chair and came to the couch. "Sit up" she commanded lightly, and Alex groaned as he sat up. Arizona sat down beside him. "I want you to answer my question honestly." She started in all seriousness. "Do you love Ginny?"

Alex's head snapped up to her. He opened and closed his mouth several times, before shutting his eyes and whispering "I do". Arizona smiled. But she continued with her questions. "Now, what do you feel about the baby? Do you want it?" "Of course I want it" Alex answered defensively, wasn't that what he has been telling her for the past three hours or so. He definitely wanted to be a part of the baby's life, a part of Ginny's life, build a future together, if only…if only Ginny wanted it.

"Ok" said Arizona bobbing her head. "So how do you plan to work out your plans if you are moving to Hopkins? You can't have a long distance relationship at this point of time. How do you…"

"I'm not going" Alex admitted softly. Arizona locked her eyes with him, "You aren't gonna regret giving up Hopkins? You should take your time to consider it Alex, after all…" Alex shook his head as spoke "I don't get you Robbins, first you were pissed at me for leaving, now you're asking me to reconsider" He studied Arizona's face as she looked away sheepishly. "I was just upset to know that you would be leaving" she admitted finally. "You are my best resident, now an excellent attending." Alex smiled.

"I was never leaving" Alex's statement shocked Arizona. "I simply wanted to share with you and Ginny the news that I was top of the class. I wanted you to appreciate the fact that I wasn't the looser after all. I was just basking in the glory. I never was leaving Seattle. Not where, I had the best programme, an awesome mentor" He smirked at the appearance of dimples on Arizona's face, "all my friends, and the woman…the woman I love." Alex began studying his hands closely and Arizona simply patted him on his back.

"So you know what you got to do right?" Arizona's question made Alex look up in confusion. "Tell her".

* * *

Alex unlocked the door to their apartment-yes their apartment- but before entering, he took in a deep breath. _I can do this_, he said to himself. He entered the apartment to find the drawing room and living room empty. He checked the kitchen where he deposited the brown paper bags he had been carrying. "Ginny?" he called out softly as he checked their bedroom next. Finding the bedroom empty he called out a little loudly "Ginny?" Suddenly, for a split second he panicked, before he heard her voice coming from the balcony "In here". Heaving a sigh of relief he opened the French doors and stepped into the cool night air. She was sitting curled up in the cosy armchair, a book in her hands, that Alex could tell she wasn't reading, and a mug placed at an arms distance on the coffee table. She leaned forward to take the mug as Alex drew a chair close and sat down.

He could tell that she was looking everywhere but at him. "Ginny" he said gently but at the same time he boldly took her free hand in his. "Yeah?" she said breathily, as she finally looked at him over the rim of her mug. Once Alex locked eyes with those charming green orbs, he felt himself falter. He cleared his throat and asked "What's that you're drinking? Is it coffee? Because if it's coffee you should stop, it isn't really healthy…"

"It's hot chocolate" Ginny said with a soft smile. "Oh" Alex shut up and looked at their hands. She hadn't pulled back. If she didn't want him here, she would have pulled back right? "Ginny, I…" He looked up to meet her eyes again, but this time he didn't look away. "I meant what I said that day. I'm not going anywhere. I want to be a part of the baby…our baby's life, if…if you will allow me."

He took the silence to mean that she was processing what he said, so he decided to press forward "I know I'm not the best option…that if you had to choose you would never choose me for the baby's father…but I … I want to tell you that I'll try my best, my best to be the…the best father in the whole world to this baby. That if you give me a chance, I'll become better, I'll…" he was cut off by Ginny's lips on his. The kiss was strong and passionate but loving at the same time, and once he realized Ginny was kissing him, Alex instinctively placed his arms around her waist and pulled their upper bodies closer and deepened the kiss. He hoped the kiss would convey to her what he felt for her.

"You ARE the best option Alex" she whispered fiercely as they pulled apart for air. Alex smiled as he continued to hold her close and pressed his forehead to hers.

* * *

"So you think they'll work it out?" Callie asked as she stood pouring wine into two long-stemmed glasses.

"It's pretty quiet, so it's safe to assume she hasn't kicked him out" Arizona answered playfully as she nuzzled Sofia. Sofia squealed as she took hold of a lock of blonde hair and began to excitedly jump in Arizona's arms. "Ouch" Arizona exclaimed in pain before extricating her hair. "You know Sof, Alex and Ginny are just so stupid, they love each other, they just need to admit it. There is virtually no problem!" At her mother's tone Sofia clapped her hands in delight. "See Calliope, even Sof understands."

Callie smiled as she brought over the wine glasses and sat down on the couch beside her wife and daughter. Placing Arizona's glass on the table, she said "How come she's still up so late? Is your magic not working now?" she teased her wife. "She still seems too excited to fall asleep" she observed as the little one leaned from her momma's arms and caught hold of Callie's little finger before taking it towards her mouth. "A little playtime and she'll be tired out" Arizona explained. "Plus I haven't really spent much time with her today. Was busy playing relationship councillor"

Callie chuckled. "Yeah, me too. Who would have thought huh? Callie Torres giving relationship advice!" She looks at her wife and daughter and her smile just grows bigger. "It's all because of you" she leans to her side and places a chaste kiss on Arizona's lips. But then she grew sombre again. "Those two need to figure out things, and figure them out fast." Arizona nodded her head in agreement. She began to draw rhythmic circles on Sofia's backs and the child had suddenly grown quiet and settled down into a comfortable position in Arizona's arms.

"They've just messed up the entire timeline, done nothing according to conventions. Now, they just need to accept their mistakes and move past it." Callie sighed as she relaxed and let her eyes close.

"Not a mistake, an accident" Arizona corrected her. "Would you call Sofia a mistake then?" she said gravely. "She was just a happy accident. A happy one" Arizona kissed her daughter's cheek as Sofia's eyelids began to droop. Callie opened her eyes and nodded in agreement. "We made it through it all didn't we?" she asked as she laced her fingers with Arizona's. Lifting their joint hands closer to her mouth, she kissed the back of Arizona's hand. "We did" Arizona said, her voice getting heavy with emotions. Shifting the baby in her arms, Arizona picked up her wine glass and began sipping the clear white liquid. The couple sat in comfortable silence, with Callie occupying her hands by drawing random patterns on Arizona's thigh while Arizona was deep in thought.

"We should have another one" Arizona broke the silence. Callie looked up. Arizona's glass was not yet empty. But she shrugged her shoulders and began to rise any way. "Okay. White or red this time?" Callie asked before Arizona touched her arm and stopped her "Calliope" something about the way Arizona said it made Callie look at her wife quizzically. That was one of the tones Arizona used when she was begging Callie to make her come.

"Another child Calliope" Arizona looked at their daughter sleeping in her arms. "Let's have another baby, and this time let's plan it." Arizona smiled tentatively and waited for Callie's response.

Plan a child, this was the one plan she had been looking forward to since the day she knew she had fallen in love. Calliope's smile lit up the little room.

* * *

**Soooo, how the plot development? I'm gonna skip over the months, the timeline is again gonna be skewed, but hang in there. Callie-Arizona planning to have another child, you think it'll work out?**

**I missed the POTF concert in my city due to exams, been in a crappy mood sice, light up my day with your precious reviews? And depending on that, I'll write the next update fast and hence update fast...so yeah it comes down to you.**

**Lots of love- G:)**


	20. Chapter 18

**So sorry, this chapter took so long.**  
**This chapter is for Mandy, for patiently waiting for the chapters. Hope you like it :)**

**Happy Reading everyone!**

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Shonda, I'm simply playing with them.**

* * *

"Are you sure?" Callie asked for the third time in the past five minutes in which she had managed to mutter ten half-sentences to Arizona.

Arizona rolled her eyes as she bounced Sofia on her lap. But before she could say anything Callie continued her rant. "I mean, Sofia is still so young. Don't you think…I mean its Sof's birthday today. And she's just one. I mean Arizona, I want a baby too but it's…"

"Calliope" Arizona said in much the same voice she uses on Sofia when she's being naughty. "Exactly, it's Sofia's birthday. Let's concentrate on her today okay? We'll get to all those questions later. I told you, we don't have to do it immediately." She averted her eyes from Sofia to look at her wife who's sitting beside her on the couch nervously wringing her hands. "Plus these things take time. We have a lot of things to consider in the equation." She laces her one free hand with Callie's. "But I want the kids to be close enough, like Timothy and me, so that they can share the joys of growing up together. It's a peculiar bond Callie. I want them to enjoy it." Lifting their enjoined hands she brings it up to her lips. Kissing the back of Callie's hand she continues "But today, we are gonna be focused on Sof and on Sof alone. You only turn one once!" Turning her head, she kisses Sofia's cheeks and the little one claps in excitement.

Callie runs a loving hand through Sofia's hair. "I hate that I have to go to work today" Callie whines as she finally pushes herself up from the couch. She has to be in the hospital in 20 minutes. "You sure you'll manage?" she asks Arizona.

"Lexie is gonna come over to help me with the decorations. Mark's made all calls to the caterers. Plus he promised to get off the shift earlier. As much as I want you to stay, I don't think it's wise to push back Jenna's surgery. Derek really wants your help with that case. Just keep your evening free. And pray that no emergencies keep you away" Arizona smiled sweetly at her wife. Callie leans over to kiss her. She wonders how she ever got this lucky.

"One more to help me through the day" Arizona chimes as Callie pulls away. Callie chuckles before she leans and places one, two then three quick, intense kisses on Arizona's lips. She knows, anything more, and she will be postponing Jenna's surgery. Finally dropping a kiss on Sofia's little head, Callie shoulder's her bag and walks out of the door, smiling and humming a tune.

* * *

Alex was more than just angry as he purposefully strode down the hallways of the Oncology department. "Ginny?" he barked at a nurse who was rounding the corner. She looked flustered for a moment and answered nervously "umm…I…her office, she just…" Before she could complete the sentence Alex was already walking away.

It was a miracle the door did not come off unhinged at Alex's force. Stepping in he closed the door with a loud bang behind him. Ginny looked up from her seated position behind the desk. "What the hell, Alex?" she asked confusion lacing her voice. Alex wanted to shout at her, but he figured, pregnant or not, Ginny was damn near scary when she was pissed off. So he drew in a deep breath to calm himself. "Why didn't you tell me about the change in schedule? Why did you go meet the doctor on your own?"

"You were in surgery" she answered simply. "And I had a surgery planned for later in the day that I wanted to prepare for so I asked if he would see me earlier and he agreed. I didn't…"

"You can't make such decisions on your own" Alex cut her off. "We are both surgeons and we are always gonna be busy. So we plan ahead, move our schedules around, meet each other half-way. You understand? I meant it when I said I wanted to be there for every step in our baby's life. So I won't let you just push me away…"

"I'm not pushing you away!" Ginny said rising from her seat and coming towards Alex. "So far we've made every decision together. You chose " she said poking his chest with her long finger. "You were supposed to have the morning off, and still you went ahead when you got paged in earlier. You simply can't blame me…"

"So what, you'll blame me for coming in early to save a life?" Alex asked incredulously. "I would still have been free by the time of our original appointment, and we could have gone together. I wanted to watch…I..the baby." Alex's anger was fast dissolving. He was more sad than angry at not having been there to see his child. "I wanted to see our baby and hear it's heart beat" he finished softly.

Alex didn't lift his head till he felt Ginny hold his chin forcing him to look up. "I'm sorry" she finally admitted. "And if it's any consolation, at 10 weeks the baby is still too tiny for the machine to detect any heartbeat. By our next visit we'll be able to. We'll hear our baby's heartbeat together." She offered him a watery smile. Alex leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose. Circling one arm round her waist, he pulled her closer and placed his other hand on her still flat stomach. "We do this together."

* * *

"Do you want to go to the party together?" Nate finally chanced to ask. Teddy stopped in her tracks and turned around to look at him. First time ever Nate asks her out, and it's to a one year old's birthday party. She watches him stand there, with hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet, nervously waiting for her reply.

"Only if you let me pick the gift for Sofia" Teddy answers and is reward with the appearance of a full blown smile on Nate's face. He steps forward to join her and the two continue their walk towards OR 3.

"That was one of the reasons" he admits, chuckling.

"What was the other?" Teddy nudges him with her shoulder.

He draws in a shuddering breath. Teddy chances a glance sideways and sees the smile slipping away from his face, instead replaced by a pain as his eyes focus on something in the distance. Finally he manages in a whisper. "Sometimes it's difficult. And it's nice to have a friend in your corner at times like that". It's an honest answer, and he looks directly into Teddy's eyes. It's his way of telling her that he wants more than just friendship, but he also needs as much time as she needs. Teddy is alright with taking it slow. She loops her hand through his and says with a smile "You'll always find me in your corner."

* * *

"Lexie"Mark called out as he stepped into Arizona and Callie's apartment. The colourful decorations assaulted his eyes. "Woho!" he said as he spotted Lexie precariously balancing herself on a chair, trying to put up a bunch of rainbow coloured balloons in the far corner of the room. He crossed the room in three quick strides and held her as she finally managed to tape it up there. She turned her head and smiled at him "Hey". With that she let herself fall into his arms and he easily lifted her and moved to the centre of the living room. Lexie wound her arms round his neck and kissed him.

"Sofia?" he asked placing feather-light kisses on her lips.

"Arizona's getting her dressed up" Lexie answered getting excited. "Oh Mark, you should see her in it. She looks so cute"

Almost as if on cue they heard Sofia's distinct "dada" from the doorway and Arizona appeared with the little girl. She eyed the couple with a mischievous smile, as she carried Sofia to her father. Mark let Lexie down on her feet and took Sofia from Arizona's arms. "aah Goose!" he placed wet kisses on her face and she squealed in delight. Lexie cooed over Sofia and her new dress before placing a soft kiss on her head and walking towards the kitchen.

"The food should be here in an hour, they said. And Callie's getting the cake on her way back. I did remind Cristina about the no alcohol policy, but I think she's still getting some" Lexie informed as Arizona and she moved around in the kitchen taking out cutlery items and stacking them up. Arizona laughed "Alex is also getting Ginny's wine stash for the party, says it's the best way to dispose it off without her murdering him" Lexie and Mark joined in on the laugh.

"Sof's still spending tomorrow morning with us right?" Mark asked from his prone position on the couch.

"Yeah, no change of plans" Arizona answered. "Hey Lex, why don't you go change and get ready for the party? I'll just finish up and go do the same while Mark watches Sofia." She checked her watch. "Callie should be coming home soon. Her schedule's still clear right?" she addressed the last part towards Mark. He nodded his head (which was currently under attack from Sofia). "I asked Hunt to clear our schedules"

While Arizona and Lexie went in opposite directions to get ready for the party, Mark lay there on the couch with his daughter sitting on his stomach. "You don't grow up too fast, Kid. You get that? I don't want to deal with your boyfriends" after a moment he added "or your girlfriends, just yet. Dada feels so old already" he nuzzles against her face as she leans down towards him.

* * *

"I wonder how he deals with it" Meredith pondered out loud. Cristina shook her head ruefully. She might not want kids, but she did feel bad for those who wanted them and could not have them, or had lost them. "I didn't know that about him, Ginny never mentioned anything" Alex said from Meredith's other side.

"I wouldn't have known either if one of the nurses had not heard Ginny consoling the poor man. She was then sent to call Teddy." Cristina offered her explanation. The trio looked at Teddy and Nate standing in the far corner of the room, cooing over Sofia in Callie's arms. Alex watched Nate, as with an unsure expression he extended his arms for Sofia, who readily bounced over to him. Teddy placed an arm on his shoulder and smiled broadly. Alex sighed; he couldn't imagine what the man must have felt losing his wife and unborn child in the 9/11 attacks. He glanced over at Ginny standing with Arizona and Bailey near the kitchen counter. "I'll just…" he said, as he began moving away from them. "Yeah" is all Meredith said as she began walking towards Zola and Derek while Cristina patted him on his shoulder.

Alex reached Ginny with two long-stemmed glasses in his hand. "Here's your drink" he said offering one to Ginny, and interrupting their conversation. She eyed the light amber coloured drink curiously. "What is this thing?"

Alex sipped his own similar drink before replying "Apple juice". Bailey grinned "I never thought I'd see the day when Karev would voluntarily decide to drink apple juice instead of wine"

"Apples, grapes, it's all fruits anyway" Alex shrugged his shoulder as he put an arm around Ginny's waist. Instinctively Ginny leaned against him as she began sipping from her glass. "I have the best boyfriend Miranda" she smiled.

Arizona smiled at the surprised expression on Alex's face. She left them to talk as she turned to go find her wife and daughter.

* * *

Arizona was tired beyond words and her eyes kept fluttering close as she waited up in bed for her wife to return after checking up on Sofia. Fed on chocolate cake and a warm glass of strawberry milk, she fell asleep in her godmother's arms before Arizona had finally put her to bed. Half an hour later it was bed time for Zola and Tuck and so they left with their families. Teddy left because she had an early surgery and since Nate was driving her home he left too. As the guests began leaving one by one, Cristina decided she wasn't drunk enough and so plodded her way to Joe's. Eventually Alex took a tired Ginny home while Mark and Lexie helped clear up the house before heading across to their apartment across the hall.

"Our one year old is happily sleeping" Callie announced gleefully as she slipped into the room and closed the door behind her. Placing the baby monitor on the bedside table she slipped into bed. "She's still hugging Bobo in her sleep" she chuckled. Bobo, was a stuffed black dog that Sofia's abuelo had bought for her from Miami and her current favourite toy. As Callie switched off the lights, Arizona slid closer to her and hugged her. Callie placed her hand round Arizona's waist pulling her closer to herself and placing a kiss on her forehead.

"I think we can start planning for our next baby" Callie announced softly to the silent dark night. Arizona lifted her head from its resting place on Callie's shoulder. "Really?" she asked, the excitement in her voice palpable in spite of the exhaustion.

"Uhmm" Callie replied softly. "What did Addison say?" Arizona inquired as she rested her head back on Callie's shoulder. "How did you know I spoke to Addison?" Callie countered with a hint of surprise in her voice. "She's your friend and she's the best in the field" Arizona said simply. "So what did she say?"

Callie chuckled softly. "I spoke to Addison and Naomi, and both are positive about our chances. They even faxed me a list of fertility experts in Seattle and told me they would stay in the loop if we wanted it."

"Tomorrow morning we are gonna compare your list and my list" Arizona said as she yawned and snuggled closer to her wife.

"You have a list too?" Callie asked, though she had to admit she wasn't really surprised. If Arizona had been thinking about it, she would have already collected all the information she required. Her heart swelled with happiness at the thought of how much Arizona really wanted to plan the baby. She didn't for a moment doubt Arizona's love and devotion for Sofia, but she did realize that she owed it to Arizona to assiduously go through the motions of planning a child-something that they lost out on the last time.

"I love you" Callie whispered softly as she pressed a kiss to Arizona's forehead. But all she got in reply were soft snores emanating from her wife's tired body. Callie smiled as she lifted the blanket and covered their entwined forms.

Tomorrow was gonna be the start of something so incredibly beautiful, that Callie couldn't wait for tomorrow to come faster.

* * *

**As always I appreciate your views on the chapter. Even those who try to be a "bitch" about it all. Still working on developing a rhythm, so that I can regularly update both My Muse and NTP, please have patience. **

**Lots of love- G :)**


	21. Chapter 19

**Thank you everyone who read and reviewed or are following it. You guys are really awesome! :)**

**Dearest Guest (by now you know who you are), you hate me with such vengeance that I almost doubt you love me. It's quite funny how you read till chapter 20 and then dissect it all apart for me. Last I checked I wasn't holding a gun to your head and forcing you to read. Don't like don't read. As it is , you don't impress me by hiding behind your mask of anonymity. Your's Sincerely, the illiterate fool.**

**For everyone else, Happy Reading! :)**

**And note: previous chapter the Ginny's OBGY is called Dr Rutledge, I don't know why while uploading the word got deleted. I'll be referring to him now and then. Also this chapter is a little heavy on Ginny, you'll know why. **

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Shonda, I'm simply playing with them.**

* * *

"Ouch!" Alex yelped as a pillow hit him squarely on his head.

"You still have to eat that" he hollered back at Ginny as she sat grumpily at the kitchen counter, still dressed in her nightgown.

Alex plodded over to open the door as the doorbell was rung for the second time. Opening the door he came face to face with a tall, grey-haired, green-eyed man, dressed smartly in what looked like an expensive black suit, even as Ginny's "I hate you Alex Karev" rang out shrilly in the background. The man eyed him curiously and Alex self-consciously looked down at his blue and red superman shorts and worn-out med school T-shirt.

"How can I help you?" Alex began cautiously and then added a "Sir" to the end of it. Something about the man commanded that sort of respect. The man stared at him coldly before taking (an almost menacing) step forward. "I'm here to see Ginevra" he said in a deep voice devoid of any emotions whatsoever. Alex stepped back as he spluttered "I'm…who are…"

"Daddy?" Ginny interrupted as she came over to the door and seeing the man, her face broke into a huge smile before she ran into his open arms and he enveloped her in a hug. Breaking apart, he held her at arm's length and appraised her from top to toe. Finally cupping her face in his hands he said with a brief smile "You are glowing" She beamed and enjoyed his undivided attention for a minute before he turned his face and looked at Alex, the smile immediately disappearing from his face. "And who are you?" he demanded.

Alex realized a minute too late that the man was asking something of him, and risked appearing stupid. But he quickly recovered and extending his hands, he said with as much confidence he could muster "Alex Karev, Sir. I'm…I'm Ginny's…" well he didn't know what exactly he was to Ginny. True she had called him "boyfriend" that night at Sofia's party, but the two had not really spoken about it.

"The man who's responsible for my daughter's current condition" the older man said disdainfully, before he completely ignored Alex's outstretched hand and walked into the room. Ginny gave him an apologetic smile behind her father's back, before she followed him into the room and immediately engaged him in conversation.

"Well that wasn't awkward at all" mused Alex as he shook his head ruefully and shut the door.

* * *

"It couldn't have been more horrible" Alex finally finished relating the events of the morning to Arizona as the two walked back into Arizona's office after a successful morning surgery.

Arizona chuckled. She had had the (mis)fortune of meeting Orlando Fontane once, and it was an experience that Arizona was unlikely to forget. The fact that she was the first 'woman' whom Ginny had ever introduced to anyone in her family coupled with Arizona issues with authority figures, was enough to ensure that the meeting was anything but comfortable. She could guess how more infinitely worse the experience would have been for Alex. She at least, hadn't knocked up super-Catholic Orlando Fontane's only daughter out of wedlock.

"He isn't all that bad" she said, partly to encourage Alex, as she slipped behind her desk and Alex slumped into a chair before her. She arranged the papers on the desk and picked up the one catalogue that had caught her interest for days and immediately began perusing it.

"Of course he isn't" Alex scoffed. "Twenty minutes he sat staring at me while Ginny got ready for work, twenty minutes! I tried making conversation but he would just shut me up. And all the while he has this scary poker face. I swear his eyes could bore a hole in the Great Wall of China. The man…"

"is way better than Ginny's mom." Arizona broke in. "Ginny and her mom haven't had a single conversation that hasn't ended up in an argument, and when I say argument I mean the mother of all arguments. Both have a unique ability of arguing in the most polite yet bitter way, no shouting, no screaming and yet they go word for word against each other and there are only two ways in which Ginny's conversation with her mom end. One she slams down the phone and then we had hot angry sex, or the phone was slammed in her face and I spent the night holding her while she cried."

Alex would have laughed and taken heart from the statement, had it not been for the fact that Arizona was talking about her sex life that she shared with his…Ginny. Somehow that made Alex highly uncomfortable. But it was the truth, and his experience of handling Ginny after one of her "conversations" with her mother had been round about same.

"And with her dad, Ginny never raises her voice. She never counters him, never utters a word of disrespect." Arizona continued with a bemused expression on her face. "She is like this completely different person. You know, Alex, she didn't defend me once." Alex detected a little hurt in her voice. "She apologized for his behaviour later but while he was dicing up our relationship, or whatever it was, Ginny just sat there eating her lunch like he was talking about the weather. And just like that she began asking him about his assignments and the two continued with their conversation like I was invisible."

Alex frowned. Today morning too, Ginny had simply behaved like nothing was wrong while anyone who was blessed with at least one of the five human senses could have sensed the huge Yeti and his ice palace in the room. Was Ginny embarrassed of him? "What does he do anyway?" Alex asked pushing away his insecurities for the moment. "He gives me the impression that he knows an awful lot of secrets about me." And Alex was definitely not happy about it.

"He is a resourceful man, that's all I know" Arizona supplied as she flipped the catalogue. Suddenly her eyes fell on just the kind of item she was looking for and she whispered a reverent "wow".

"What are you looking at?" Alex asked curiously as he leaned over the desk and tried to read the catalogue upside down.

Arizona looked up and gave him a full blown dimpled smile. "For our anniversary Calliope is taking me to a Spa Resort for the weekend. So I, because I am awesome, decided to gift her something special. After all she's the woman who's changed my life" She had this dreamy look on her face that made Alex smile.

"So you're thinking jewellery?" he asked, catching up with her line of thought. When she nodded her head he continued. "You should try Turgeon and Raine, I checked out, they've got some really cool stuff and they are currently giving a discount."

Arizona eyed him curiously. "Why were you checking out Jewellery?" When he began shifting uncomfortably in his seat, Arizona tried again in her mommy-voice "Alex?"

"uhh…I..I bought a ring for Ginny" he said softly.

"You did what?" Arizona said jumping up from her chair. "Oh my God, Alex finally you're going to propose to her!" she began clapping her hands in excitement.

"Dude relax" Alex said standing up too, but he couldn't keep the smile from breaking out on his face. "I'm not proposing to her. Not yet. It's just a simple ring, more like a promise ring you know. Just a single emerald enclosed by five little diamonds. It's very…" He couldn't complete the sentence because Arizona had wrapped him up in a bone crushing hug.

* * *

"Alex bought Ginny a ring?" Callie asked loudly, her excitement getting the better of her. The other couples sitting around them looked at the two curiously. "Shhh" Arizona said leaning closer and tapping Callie's hand that she was holding in hers. "It's a secret, and he'll kill me if Ginny comes to know about it."

"But he bought her a ring" Callie whispered squeezing Arizona's hand. Arizona nodded her head. "I knew they were perfect for each other."

Callie snorted. "No you didn't. You tried breaking them apart. But me, I knew from the start they were meant for each other. Even during the times, you called their relationship a non-relationship. Admit it Arizona, I just have a natural ability for such things. While you…"

"I panic and I call things wrong" Arizona completed, but Callie noticed the subtle change in her demeanour. She wasn't just talking about Alex and Ginny. Callie cupped Arizona's face and questioned her with her eyes. Arizona read the question as loudly and clearly as if it were spoken. She kissed the tip of Callie's finger. "I was wrong when I said I didn't want a baby and didn't want to start a family with you. You made me change my mind. Sofia made me change my mind"

Callie leaned forward and kissed Arizona gently. "And now we're here." She was rewarded with a dimpled smile from Arizona. Before Arizona could say anything, a nurse called out their names "Torres-Robbins". The two quickly stood up. "Dr Frazer will see you now" the nurse informed them with a smile. Weaving Callie's hands with her own, Arizona tugged her towards meeting the fertility specialist.

"Dr Torres, Dr Robbins" greeted a balding man in his late forties, as soon as they stepped into the office. "I'm Dr Ryan Frazer" he said smiling and adjusting his glasses, as he sat down in his chair.

"I'm Arizona Robbins and this is my wife Callie" Arizona said as the two sat down, still holding hands.

"Dr Montgomery asked me to expect you. She told me a little about your case history, but I like making notes for myself. So how about we start right from the beginning?" He looked at them in a way that reminded Callie of her third grade teacher Mr Maxwell.

"So Arizona, Callie, I hear you have a daughter. Tell me about her" he said as he sat back in his chair and began making notes. With that began their 1 hour long meeting during the course of which they navigated through both of their medical histories while he also reassured them that they had nothing to fear about an untimely delivery, since it was an unnatural incident with Sofia. However he did write out a number of tests for Callie to ascertain if she was physically fit to carry another child. Just to be sure, he had added. But an interesting development during their interview with the doctor was that Arizona learnt about Callie's desire for a mini-Arizona. "You know, I want a little blonde haired, blue eyed, boy or girl, with your dimples" she had clung onto Arizona's hands waiting for her answer.

Dr Frazer guessed that the two women had not discussed it earlier. "Well you are both aware that the Callie's Latina genes are dominant so any IVF procedure using Callie's eggs would not have the traits you desire. And using your eggs Arizona would just be an added step to the simple procedure. No great hassle. We will keep both your ovulating periods under supervision and take your eggs when you're ovulating." Arizona took a moment to consider it all. "Well" she looked at Callie's large dove-eyes and finally nodded her head. "Yeah, yeah we could do that, if that's what you want. Personally, I would just love another tiny Torres, but if you want a mini-me, I think I can do that for you. But no questions on who's carrying the baby okay! Me and pregnancy hormones just don't gel" she stated with such finality that both Callie and Dr Frazer laughed. Callie gave her a quick kiss and whispered "Thank You" before the duo turned back their attention to Dr Frazer.

"So you will also need a Caucasian sperm donor" Frazer stated. "Do you have any one in mind?" he looked at the two women. Arizona held back her words. Mark Sloan may have great genes, and he might be a great father to Sofia, but she definitely didn't want Mark to be a part of their second baby's life as well. But she hadn't spoken to Callie about it and part of her was still debating if she wanted Sofia to have some sort of blood tie to her sibling. Callie solved the problem for her. "No we don't. Like I said earlier, my first pregnancy was not planned. But on this one, we would like to go through all the list of possible sperm donors and select the one that suits us the best." She tilted her head slightly towards Arizona waiting for her approval; she was answered with a kiss and a whispered "Thank You."

* * *

To say that Teddy was feeling awkward sitting at the table, would be an understatement. There was Ginny's dad, who had not just decided to check out the hospital where his daughter worked but also the kind of people she worked with. Usually Alex never sat with them, but today he had no chance to sit anywhere else but where Fontane demanded him to. And so while he praised Nate, whom he had heard about before, he made sure to simultaneously undermine Alex, whom, he made very clear he did not like at all. Teddy looked at Mark who was biting his apple with a less than amused expression while Nate squirmed in his chair under the added attention. Callie hadn't looked up from her plate of salad even once and only Arizona and she kept exchanging worried glances with one another. Finally Ginny arrived with her tray of food and sat down beside her father.

"The least you could have done Karev was get her food for her" he quipped. Alex looked like he was about to explode but he answered with controlled calmness "I should have. But your daughter hates being treated as an invalid." Before the older Fontane could say anything, Ginny began talking about the jello and how it reminded her of her school in Prague. While father and daughter reminisced about old times, Teddy swore she saw Alex bend his fork by glaring at it.

"So when are you taking a maternity leave and coming home?" he asked conversationally as he sipped his black coffee.

"Home?" Alex looked up from his plate. "Why would she be going anywhere? This is where she lives, this is where I live, and this is where our baby will be born" Alex stated emphatically. He had heard enough from Ginny today to know that if he didn't interfere, she might just comply with him and fly out to some European nation and he would not get the chance of seeing his child's birth.

"And what exactly can you provide her with?" Orlando asked mockingly. "I can make sure that my daughter gets the best care available in the world. Which you obviously can't manage. You don't even own a house. You live in my daughter's house. You are a junior doctor. You earn less than my daughter does. And this lifestyle that you both are enjoying right now is all thanks to her trust fund that I built for her. My hardwork!" he puffed out his chest and pointing an accusatory finger at him he continued "While you, you have no money, no family, no lineage. I know everything about you Karev. You are just a …"

"Enough Daddy" Ginny's voice was eerily calm. Arizona lifted her head up in surprise. Nate choked on his glass of water. Teddy patted him on his back even as Mark smirked at the scene unfolding before him.

Orlando turned towards his daughter with a surprised look on his face. "Ginevra are you aware of this man's history? He has a schizophrenic brother and a history of violence. How can you trust such a man? A man who hasn't even…"

"I said enough, Daddy" Ginny said looking him straight in the eye. "You are talking about the man who's my child's father, about the man I love. I expect you to talk about him with a little more respect. You want to know what kind of a man he is? Well he may not be a man out to save the world, walking down the power corridors, making decisions that alter the lives of millions of people. But he's the kind of man, who saves lives of little children and keeps families from breaking apart. He's the kind of man, who stays up night after night, sacrificing his sleep and rest and hunger, just to make sure that a new-born makes it through its first night. And I know that he will be the kind of father who would be there for his child no matter what. Whether it's football matches or dance recitals or graduation ceremony, my child will have not have to be disappointed that her father didn't make it. Because I know Alex is an honourable man, and that's the only kind of worthy men in the world. Isn't that what you taught me?" With those final words, she let her tears flow freely, before she rose from her chair and exited the cafeteria as fast as she could.

The table was plunged in silence, before Alex pushed back his chair and stood up. "I'm going home" he told Arizona who simply waved him off. With one last look at Orlando Fontane Alex headed out of the cafeteria.

* * *

Orlando Fontane stood shifting from one foot to another as he stood outside his daughter's apartment. Ginevra had never spoken to him like that. He was a proud man and he didn't take kindly to being spoken rudely, much less before an audience. But he was smart enough, for he knew that if he didn't apologize to his daughter, he may lose her for ever. So he drew in a deep breath and rang the doorbell. He waited patiently. After a couple of minutes the door was opened by Alex Karev.

"I wish to see my daughter" he stated with no preamble.

"She's sleeping now" the younger man answered calmly.

"I want to see my daughter" Orlando said, this time a little more forcefully.

Alex looked at the man for a second before answering. "Mr Fontane I'm not deliberately keeping you from meeting your daughter. Ginny has been up on her feet since morning. And she has only just cried herself to sleep. I don't wish to wake her up. She needs her rest. I know she loves you and that whatever your feelings towards me, you wish the best for her, and so I would never keep you two apart. I know the importance of family." He saw the usual poker face of the older man, softening and his lips parted and closed like he was trying to form some sort of coherent sentence.

"So how about we meet for breakfast tomorrow? And after, we'll drive you to the airport so that you can catch your flight?" Alex offered a simple solution to the man. He saw the tiniest of smiles tug at the corner of the older man's mouth.

"That sounds like an excellent plan" he said, before holding out his right hand. "Thank You" he said shaking Alex's hands. "Take care of my girl" and with that he turned on his heels and began walking down the stairs. Alex smiled at the retreating form before shutting the door softly.

Meeting the father, round two, didn't sound like a very bad plan!

* * *

**Yeah, I know a little low on Calzona, but next chapter is about their anniversary celebrations! By my calculations, its roughly 3 months after Sofia's birth or atleast that's the calculation I'm going by.**

**As always I love to hear what you think about the chapter. I'm a big girl, and I won't be bullied around. So if you have something to say about the fic- good, bad or ugly- I suggest you log in or at least state your name. I won't ever delete any one's comments. Everyone has the right to say what they feel. Just like I have a right to write what I want.**

**Sorry for my ranting, no love lost, yet- G :)**


	22. Chapter 20

**I know I have been gone long, and that this update was expected ages back. I'm really really sorry. Since turning an year older in September, my life has been one hell of a roller-coaster ride. But now, I'm finally taking back control of my life.**

**Everyone who reviewed and favourited or added the story to alerts, thank you so much. Your support and appreciation means a lot to me. And the reminders to update the story made me smile. Thank You so much :)**

**I really hope this chapter was worth the long wait. Haven't written in a long time, and so I was a bit rusty. Any and all mistakes are mine. Happy Reading!**

**Disclaimer: As always, all recognizable characters belong to Shonda and I'm simply playing with them.**

* * *

"Ok, just one more Sof" asked Lexie excitedly and she was readily answered with a toothy grin as Sofia waved a large red pyramid around in her hand.

"Perfect!" Lexie exclaimed. She bent down to kiss the little girl before she scampered away to play with her friends. The young surgeon stood there smiling for another minute or two before her pager rang, reminding her that she did in fact have a lot of work to do. And especially now, since Fontane had slowly reduced her working hours and it was Cahill who was running the show. And while he was a really good doctor, the department was already missing Fontane. Lexie wondered with a sigh, what the condition would be like when Ginny actually went away for her maternity leave. Waving a quick bye-bye to Sofia, who was way too engaged to spare more than a look towards Lexie, she exited the daycare.

"Oh before I forget," Lexie smiled as she typed "_Am too busy playing, mommies- Love Sof_". Attaching Sofia's current photos to it, she hit send. She then slipped her phone into her pocket and chanced a glance at her watch. She had a long day ahead of her.

* * *

"This is sooo cute" Arizona cooed before placing a kiss on her mobile screen. "But it's also kinda sad that she isn't really missing us" she pouted at the end of it and turned her head to look at her wife who was in the driver's seat.

Callie laughed as she eased the car into an available parking spot. "Our daughter has too many people around to pamper her; of course she doesn't miss us." She leaned in towards Arizona to catch a glimpse of their naughty little one. "She does look cute in that ridiculous bumblebee top. But Arizona," Callie's tone changed slightly and it caused Arizona to turn her head to look at Callie, "is Lexie seriously gonna be sending us _hourly_ updates? You do know Little Grey takes her job very seriously and I so don't want to be interrupted by her every hour." Arizona grinned. "Oh, don't worry, I'm not gonna let any interruption spoil any plans that you've made for us" She leaned in for a chaste kiss, but as she began pulling back Callie quickly brought her hand up to hold the blonde's head in place and deepened the kiss. When they finally pulled apart for want of air, Callie said with a mischievous smile "I have plans for you Mrs Torres, so many plans". A low rumbling noise emanated from somewhere deep inside Arizona. Given the fact that they were both extremely busy surgeons and doting mothers to a demanding one year old, an entire weekend alone to themselves and having to do nothing but enjoy each other's company sounded heavenly.

So it wasn't really funny when Arizona impatiently undid her seat belt and practically hopped out of the car, urging Callie to do the same. And even though Callie laughed at her wife's child-like excitement as she watched her dancing on the balls of her feet, she meant the kiss that she dropped on Arizona's head to be only the beginning.

"So do you wanna check out the lake and the fishing spot first or try out the chocolate massage and fish pedicure routine?" she asked as she draped an arm around Arizona's shoulder and pulled the blonde closer to herself.

* * *

"This is NOT happening!" Ginny observed angrily as she turned from her spot in front of the mirror. "This is the third pair of trousers in a month that refuse to fit me" Fresh tears were threatening to spill from the corner of her eyes, as Alex looked up from his spot on the foot of the bed.

"That's because the baby's growing" he reasoned calmly. "How about you wear that blue dress we bought recently. It looks beautiful on you"

"Don't lie" she retorted even as she let the trousers fall down and pool around her legs. She turned her head to check out her profile in the mirror. "I look like a house!"

"No, you look beautiful" Alex stated emphatically as he languidly walked up to stand next to her and enveloped her from behind with his strong arms. "You've never looked more beautiful than you do now carrying our healthy growing baby" She leaned back into him and he dropped his head on her shoulder and swayed them both lightly. Almost as if on cue, the baby decided to make its presence felt and kicked against Alex's hand resting on Ginny's stomach. Alex smiled goofily as he lifted his head and looked at Ginny. "See baby agrees" and after placing a quick kiss on her cheek he released her to step in front of her and kneel down. "Hey buddy, don't listen to mumma complaining, you just take all you want and keep getting stronger, ok? When you come out, Daddy wants to be holding a really strong and healthy baby in his arms. You get that?" The baby answered with another kick. Alex smiled as he kissed the baby bump and Ginny let her hands run lazily through his hair.

When he looked up and saw the content smile on Ginny's face, he uttered the three words he had been wanting to utter for a long time now. "I love you", he stated without much of a preamble and noted the brief look of shock that appeared on her face. He knows he should have chosen a better time and a better place to tell her that he loved her, for the first time and all. He should have made it special for her. But Alex knew that in that simple moment, he loved her, he loved their baby and he already loved the family he was going to build with Ginny- and for him there could be no other moment more perfect that this.

When she still hadn't answered, Alex slowly rose up and made his way to his socks drawer and after rummaging around for a moment, retrieved a little black box. Nervously wiping his hand on the sides of his jeans, he came and stood in front of an open-mouthed Ginny. "I bought this for you…" he began tentatively. "I meant to give this to you earlier, but I never could find a perfect moment" He finally looked up to meet her glassy green eyes. "But this moment is perfect", he opened the box to reveal the emerald and diamond ring, "you are perfect." He paused and stepped in closer to her, and taking out the ring he silently asked for her permission. "And this is my promise to you." Ginny nodded her head, almost imperceptibly, but it was enough for Alex as he took her hand and slipped the ring into place. Placing and arm around her waist, he pulled her in as close as her growing stomach would allow.

Ginny mumbled an "I love you too" before she crashed her lips against Alex to let him know how long she had waited for him to say those words.

* * *

Callie reasoned she should blame the perfume. It was intoxicating. Then maybe it was just the way Arizona was swaying her hips just a little too much as she sashayed around the room with the ridiculous blow dryer in her hand. But if she were being completely honest, she would have to say she was having a hard time keeping her hands to herself since she heard Arizona's pleasurable moans during the massage session. Had the steam bath cubicles been more private and these two, less respectable adults, she may not have had to wait this long to grab her wife and and get her way with her.

So it was that the two semi-dressed women lay tangled upon the bed, laughing and kissing. But when Callie slipped off the dress from Arizona's shoulder and let it all fall to her waist, she saw Arizona's laugh get caught in her throat and her baby blue eyes impulsively darken. As Arizona's hands found the way to their favourite place and tangled themselves in Callie's black tresses, Callie bent down with a predatory smile and marked the woman she loved. All too slowly for Arizona's liking, Callie kissed and sucked her way down from the hollow of her neck to the valley between her bra clad breasts. She felt a low groan escape from her wife underneath her as she involuntarily raised her hips to bring herself closer to Callie. Only, Callie held steady and chuckled at the blonde's sudden desperation. But before Callie could say or do anything else, she heard a different kind of rumble escape Arizona, this time from her stomach.

Arizona's eyes that had moments ago been heavy lidded flew open and as she watched the Latina laugh, her own embarrassment gave way to amusement. "Someone's really hungry", Callie commented as she bent down and kissed the tip of Arizona's nose. However as she attempted to roll away, Arizona held on to her forearms and tugged her closer. Raising her head, she kissed Callie to let her know exactly how hungry she was. But when her tummy rumbled again, she let go of the Latina. "Let's go quickly grab something to eat, then I'm gonna come back and savour my dessert" Arizona said with a dimpled smile as Callie brushed the blonde hair back from her face. "I can't wait" she smiled back sweetly and got off the bed. She held out her hand, to help Arizona up. Instead the blonde crawled to the edge of the bed and put her hands round the Latina's neck and whispered. "But before that, I have to give you your gift" she said in her adorable way, "lest you kiss me into oblivion again." With a quick peck to her wife's cheek, Arizona released her and went over to her luggage bag.

"But I didn't get you any gift" Callie complained good naturedly as she stood with her hands on her hips and watching her wife rummage through the open suitcase. "You planned the weekend away" Arizona supplied easily. "But that's because we couldn't make it the first time round" Callie frowned as the answer left her mouth. "Got it" Arizona exclaimed before finally bouncing over to her wife and holding out a black rectangular velvet box for her. "What is it?" Callie asked lifting her perfect eyebrow. "Open it" prompted the blonde excitedly as she stood with her hands on Callie's waist and peered up to look at her face.

Callie gasped as she laid her eyes upon the beautiful silver neckpiece with a diamond studded love-knot in the centre. "It's beautiful" she whispered as she fingered the piece gently. She lifted her eyes to meet her wife's and saw the baby blue orbs shining with love and happiness. "Happy Anniversary Calliope" said Arizona as she rose on her feet and kissed her wife. Breaking away they both stood close, foreheads touching each other. "And I promise to love you eternally, if only you take me to lunch right now" she finished cheekily.

* * *

"Hey, I brought lunch," announced Teddy as she put her head in through the door. Nate looked up from the charts he was working on and his tired face immediately broke into a smile. He waved her in and as she settled down in the chair next to him, he removed the glasses from his face and rubbed his hands over his tired eyes. "Even cafeteria food sounds great right now" he told her as she placed the two plastic plates of spaghetti on his table and held out a fork for him. Taking it he immediately leaned back in his chair and began attacking his food. Teddy just sat there with her own plate, with an amused expression on her face. "When was the last time she ate?" her concern evident even in the light tone she used. Nate simply shrugged his shoulders. "You really do miss Ginny around don't you" she said as she surveyed the mess on his table. Swallowing his food, Nate answered "She has a natural ability for such stuff." He randomly picked up the few sheets in front of him and then let them fall. "What equipment, what personnel, which funds to use where…I…I am pathetic at it" he owned.

"So why don't you send them over to her?" Teddy asked simply. "She's not allowed to tire herself out, agreed. So you take over her operations, her cases and let her handle these. As it is, Karev has put out interns to make sure she doesn't over work herself, and she's tired of his antics. She would really appreciate the opportunity to do some real work, administrative though it may be." When she'd finished, Nate looked at her like she was Buddha himself speaking.

"You are a phenomenally smart woman you know that?" he smiled finally. "And for your invaluable suggestion, I have something for you" he bent down to retrieve something from his drawer and came out holding a pack of grape flavoured twizzlers. "You found my favourite!" Teddy exclaimed excitedly as she reached across and grabbed the packet. "I so love you right now!"

She was too excited over her packet of twizzlers to notice the blushing face of her companion before he coughed, righted his features but continued to smile indulgently at her.

* * *

The smile refused to leave Callie's face as she leaned back on her hands and watched Arizona next to her, her face scrunched up in concentration, as she sat twirling a lock of hair. They were currently sitting out on the deck; their feet dipping in the cool lake water while they sipped white wine and enjoyed the moonlight glimmering across the tranquil lake surface.

"This guy's perfect" Arizona announced as she held out the sheet of paper she was reading right in front of Callie's face. "He's an Art History major, and besides a broken knee at the age of 11 he's had no other major operations or illnesses. And he meets our physical criterions. What do you think?"

"I think you look adorable when you're concentrating hard on something" supplied Callie easily as she leaned in to kiss Arizona chastely. "But I still like guy number 2."

"But this guy is creative Calliope. And he's listed travelling and photography as his hobbies. So we know he's not just a healthy, good-looking and smart guy but also has an eye for beauty. Maybe, is even creative. And you know, a lot about being a surgeon is about being creative" Arizona sipped her wine as she finished presenting her case.

Callie laughed. "So our little one is gonna be a surgeon?" she questioned cocking her head to one side. "Arizona" she said the name in a way that made Arizona duck her head and smile sheepishly. "Yeah yeah, I promised not to push our children into anything. They can be anything they want to be. That includes wanting to be an ice-skating champ or ballerina too" she grinned as she looked up at Callie.

"So long as they don't end up in our ORs they can be anything" Callie added. And then picking up Arizona's hand in her own she continued, "Plus I don't think the genes really matter, beyond the point that they be healthy genes with no genetic diseases. I know Sofia doesn't share a single gene with you and still with every passing day she becomes more and more like you." Arizona smiled proudly at that. She snuggled into Callie's side and said gleefully "Her new favourite word is 'awshum'". Callie laughed and dropped a kiss on the blonde's head. "That's what I meant. But if it still means so much to you, then I think we have a tough race between 20812 and 23415."

Arizona replaced the paper in her hand with another one from the file. "Hmm" she considered gravely. "Played Pro-Ball in college, and now works as a lawyer. He likes adventure sports and cooking. So there are chances that our kid might turn into a sports jock. Or if we consider 20812 then he or she might become an artist even. Tough choice. But I say, we go for 23212. Software engineer by day, guitarist with an indie band by night. And says he loves to sleep, and watch '50s classics and read comics. He's not perfect, but I like this guy." She tilted her head so she could look Callie in the eye.

"I like him too" Callie agreed.

Arizona smiled as she snuggled back into Callie. "This is just the beginning isn't it?" She felt Callie nod her head. "I can't wait."

"Me neither" agreed Callie as she wrapped her arms tighter around Arizona and continued to watch the moon brighten up the night sky.

Callie usually hated having to make plans, but this time, she was particularly enjoying it.

* * *

**I'm actually kinda nervous to know if this chapter was okay. And thank you if u read the entire thing and finally made it to the end.**

**2 more chapters to go, I hope you guys will hang in there.**

**As always, load of love- G :)**


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